The Inbetween Bits by Kirsten Tapp
by Zaz
Summary: What happened between the episodes that was aired? This is the story of the inbetween snippets that we never saw. Now up, Chapter twentyone: Between and Jesus Brought a Casserole and Designate This.
1. Between Pilot and Heat

**"Inbetween the Pilot and Heat"**  
by [Kirsten Tapp][1]

**Disclaimer:**

Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary:**

What happens between the end of the Pilot and the beginning of Heat.

**Spoilers:**

Season one Pilot

**Rating:**

PG

**Category:**

Drama, Romance

**Author's note:**

So it's Christmas Day in New Zealand and I'm house sitting for my cousin for ten days. I got myself as a late birthday present, (I'm a December baby) Dark Angel Season One on DVD and while watching the first three episodes, I kept thinking what happened in between? So that's what this series is called: The In Between Bits. Thanks as always to Zaz for taking the time to put my stories up on the net.

* * *

Max had sat on the space needle until the early hours of the morning. So many thoughts swam around in her head. Zack was alive and out in the world somewhere. The information itself made Max feel as though after all these years, she had made a connection with one of her Manticore siblings but that wasn't what made her uneasy. Logan Cale had offered her a quid pro quo: Information on her family in return for her doing the legwork on his "Eyes Only' cases.

The three months that had past between Logan being shot and her previous nights visit had flown by. Despite telling Logan the contrary, Max had visited Logan every night while he was in the hospital. She always kept to the shadows of the hospital room when the nurses came in to check on him. When she and Logan were alone and he was sleeping due to the amount of painkillers he was taking, she talked to him. The conversations were always the same. She would tell him that Lauren and Sophie were safe, thanks to her of course and that Sonrisa was dead.

Max was still confused at why she bothered. After all, she didn't need anymore trouble in her life. The fact that Lydecker was too close for comfort was more than enough trouble for her. The first thought that popped into her head was that she felt guilty about Logan being shot. She quickly pushed that thought aside. It wasn't her fault Logan had been injured trying to play hero.

She had watched Logan in his apartment when he had been released from hospital. He had been in so much pain, but refused to let anyone do too much for him. The Physio Therapist he had hired was always telling him that he was pushing himself too hard. Max didn't envy Bling his job. She knew from her brief experience with Logan, that he didn't take no for an answer very well. She had found out Bling's name from the doorman, but had vanished before he could ask her why she wanted to know.

The emotions that she had been feeling ever since she had tried to rob Logan, caused her the most confusion. Chair or no chair, the man was hot. Still, he seem to fill her head all of the time. When she saw that he was taking his 'Eyes Only' work back on board again, she had been furious. 'Eyes Only' was the whole reason he was in the chair in the first place. But then a sense of pride took over. She was proud of him for not giving up on the world, on the people who needed him, on himself. Of course that was usually followed by her getting mad with herself for caring in the first place.

"What's up Sugar?" Original Cindy's voice broke through Max's thoughts. "You look too deep in thought for this time of the morning." She stood with her hands on her hips. "Please tell me you didn't go and take that low life Darren back." her expression told Max exactly what her opinion of that was.

"God no." Max gave Original Cindy a disgusted look as she caught the parcel Normal threw at her and ignored his Bip, Bip, Bipping. "You remember Logan?"

"The guy at the bar a few months back?" Original Cindy vaguely recalled him. "You banging the gong with hot boy?"

"Yes, the guy from the bar. No, I'm not banging the gong with him." Max's expression turned serious. "I'm not even sure that's possible at the moment. He was shot. The bullet hit him in the spine so he's in a wheelchair."

Original Cindy looked at her in utter disbelief. "That was him on the tube a few weeks back?"

"Yeah." Max nodded.

"Damn." Original Cindy composed herself. "So is it his condition or the man himself that has you so deep in thought?"

"I'm not sure." Max shrugged her shoulders. "That is what's got me so deep in thought." She stuffed the parcel in her back pack and rode off before her friend could ask any more questions. She still wasn't sure if she was going to take Logan up on his offer yet. What she really needed was a ride on her motorcycle to be able to figure things out. The one thing that was clear, was that Logan had found more information on her siblings in the short space of time that she had known him, than Vogelsang had found since she had hired him a while back.

Logan stared out the window which had only just been repaired due to his stay in hospital. The sky looked dark and dreary as usual but he wasn't really paying attention to the weather. He knew he had struck a cord with Max by finding information on one of the others that escaped with her back in 09.

He had been trying to convince himself, ever since he first started investigating into Max's past, that he was doing it to help her out. The truth was, he couldn't stop thinking about her and wanted to somehow ensure that she would keep coming back.

Sure, Max was beautiful, but Logan had seen the tenderness that she tried to keep hidden behind a tough facade. He saw the hope in her face when he had handed her the folder with the information in it that he had so far collected on the other X5. What he didn't see when he looked at Max was pity and he never wanted to see that in her face when she looked at him.

"Logan! You up." Bling walked into the apartment and quickly spotted Logan. Without waiting for an answer since he could see that Logan was dressed, but also deep in thought, he released the brakes on Logan's wheelchair and pushed him over to the workout bench. "Must be a girl."

Logan looked up at Bling. "What?" He hadn't even heard Bling come in.

"Whatever's got you so deep in thought. It has to be a girl. Only women can turn your world upside down so much that you can't hear someone yelling your name inside your own apartment." Bling chuckled when he saw Logan blush. "So what's her name?"

"Max and it's not like that." Logan protested as Bling lifted him onto the workout bench. "I'm trying to convince her to work for me, that's all. She has some special skills that would be useful for 'Eyes Only'." He could see Bling wasn't convinced and who could blame him. Logan couldn't convince himself that was all he wanted.

Later that night, Logan was back staring out of the window again. Who was he kidding? Max wouldn't want a cripple like him, when she could have anyone she wanted. I mean look at her, she was gorgeous, she was smart, she was sexy as hell, she was strong, she had a great body. Logan shook his head to clear his mind of Max. "I've gotta be out of my head." He muttered to himself.

"You'll get no argument from me on that." Max sat perched on the back of the sofa. "I rang the doorbell but no one answered, so I let myself in.'

"Obviously." Logan was embarrassed that he had been caught by the person that occupied his every thought. "I didn't expect to see you back here again. So what can I do for you?"

"I've been considering your offer." Max was wondering if Logan was reconsidering his offer. He seemed embarrassed for some reason.

"You want to work for me in exchange for me helping you track the others down that escaped with you." Logan was starting to wonder if this was all a dream.

"If the offer's still open." Max shifted uncomfortably under Logan's stare. There was something in his stare that she couldn't quite identify.

"Yeah, the offer's still open." Logan watched Max ease herself off of the sofa and walk over to his desk, quickly writing something on a scrape of paper.

"That's my pager number." She handed him the scrape of paper. "Gotta blaze." She turned and disappeared out of the apartment before she could changer her mind.

Logan sat grinning from ear to ear. "Well, at least this is a start." He rolled his chair over to his computer and started tapping the keys on the keyboard. An hour later he realized that finding information on the Manticore escapees was not going to be easy, but he now felt as though he had something to aim for, a purpose to his life.

Max watched Logan working on his computer from the building next door. "I hope I'm doing the right thing." Her voice floated out into the dark as she headed for the space needle.

_The End_

   [1]: mailto:kirstent@clear.net.nz



	2. Between Heat and Flushed

**"Inbetween Heat and Flushed"**  
by [Kirsten Tapp][1]

**Disclaimer:**

Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary:**

What happens in between Episodes 2 and 3 of Season one.

**Spoilers:**

Heat and Flushed

**Rating:**

PG

**Category:**

Drama

* * *

Logan stared out of his penthouse apartment window at the space needle. Mentally scolding himself for the relief he had felt when Max had told him that Eric wasn't her boyfriend, he was also relieved that Max was back where she was reasonably safe.

He rarely told people that he was afraid of heights, not because he wanted to appear heroic, but because he didn't want to risk the wrong people finding a weakness to use against him. It was bad enough that he was stuck in a wheelchair, yet that hadn't stopped Max asking him if he had ever been up on the space needle and wanting to change the fact that he hadn't. Logan didn't know if he would ever get used to people looking at him with pity clouding their faces.

What appealed to Logan the most about Max, was that she never seemed to see the wheelchair. When she looked at Logan it seemed as though she saw straight into his soul, the wheelchair was irrelevant. Despite denying he was jealous, Logan knew he had probably turned emerald green with jealousy when Eric had announced himself on the phone as Max's boyfriend. It had made him more conscious of the fact that he couldn't run to the rescue if Max needed him, even if Max didn't see it that way.

Wheeling himself back to his computer, Logan went back to work on finding Max's family. Unfortunately, his concentration wasn't at it's best. He could still feel the warmth of Max's body when she had hugged him for finding some information on Hannah. It had surprised him how Max hadn't hesitated a second before putting her arms around him. She had actually lowered the defensive walls that she kept built up around her, for a minute or so. It was quite a change from the strange behavior she was exhibiting from the previous night. "Must have been a female or feline thing." He muttered trying to get his concentration focused.

The phone ringing ruined any plans to focus on the task at hand. Snatching up the phone, he continued tapping away at his keyboard. "Yeah."

"Hey. It's me." Max's voice purred along the phone line.

"Hey yourself." Logan immediately stopped working on his computer. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Everything alright? Did Hannah get away ok?"

"Yeah." Max sounded almost hopeful on the other end of the phone. "She remembered my mother. She tried to escape from Manticore just before I was born. Hannah didn't know her name but she was about my age when I was born. After I was born Hannah says that my mother was moved to a psychiatric facility somewhere."

"That gives me more to work with." Logan loved listening to Max's voice. She could have phoned to tell him the end of the world was coming and he couldn't have cared less at that moment. "How are you dealing with this new information?"

"I don't know." Max admitted. "I mean I had convinced myself that it didn't matter that I had no idea who my parents were, or at least I thought I had. Let's face it, I'm just a science experiment cooked up in a test tube somewhere. If I started to think about having a mother, it meant I was more like a normal girl and we both know that's not true." She couldn't believe that she was telling Logan all of this.

"I think you're more like a normal girl than you realize." Logan had a feeling it had taken a lot for Max to admit all of this to him. "Your mother sounds like a fighter. You're obviously a lot like her."

"I guess." Max felt a twinge of belonging when Logan told her that she was like her mother. She remembered how unwanted she had felt when as a child, she had heard someone on the street commenting to a friend how her child looked so much like her father. She had wondered at the time who she looked like. Not knowing who her parents were, she had just felt like a freak made up of bits and pieces. "Anyway, I thought you might want to use the information that Hannah gave me."

"It certainly gives me somewhere to start looking." Logan knew their conversation was coming to an end. "I'll get started on it right away."

"Don't you sleep either?" Max teased.

"Not a lot." Logan hated to sleep. He was constantly haunted by nightmares of the shooting that left him in the wheelchair. "Besides, it's not as though I have to get up early in the morning to go to work. It doesn't matter if I sleep in."

"Oh the joys of being rich." Max joked. "I've gotta go. I don't want to wake my room mate up. Try and get some sleep anyway. Bye."

"Bye." Logan put the phone down and glanced at the clock on his computer. It was getting late and Bling would be there early to put him through his workout. Maybe he should try and get some sleep. Scribbling down some notes on a pad, he shut down his computer and headed for bed.

Strangely enough, Logan's dreams that night were far less disturbing. Not content with taking over his thoughts during the day, Max started to take over his dreams at night. Dreams where Logan could walk along the beach beside Max holding her hand. Dreams where he could dance with her, holding her close and Max let him, instead of keeping him at a distance.

Max lay on her bed staring at the dirty ceiling. She still couldn't believe that she, a genetically engineered killing machine, had a mother out there somewhere who loved her. She hadn't realized until she had found out that key piece of information just how much she had wanted that.

Knowing that Logan needed her, if only for leg work made her feel a little more wanted and a little less inhuman. She hadn't been surprised when she had walked in on Bling putting Logan through his workout, just how hard Logan was pushing himself. What had surprised her, was despite being in heat, how she had been anxious to put some distance between Logan and herself before she did something stupid and jumped him.

In the past when she had gone into heat, she hadn't thought about the consequences until after the deed was done. Then all she felt was cheap and dirty. She didn't want to feel that with Logan and that was what shocked her: the fact that she cared. Plus there was the chance that considering his condition, if she had ravaged him she could have made his injury worse.

"God, when did everything get so complicated?" She pulled her pillow over her head. The answer was there taunting her. The night when she had broken into Logan's apartment to rob him, that was when it had become complicated. She had also got the answers to some of the questions that had been swimming around her head since she and the others had escaped from Manticore.

Glancing at the clock by her bed after she had tossed her pillow down to the foot of her bed, she saw that it was time to get ready for work. Another day, another dollar. Working for Normal wasn't so bad, once you started ignoring him, which she had done five minutes after starting work at Jam Pony.

It was as she was pulling a comb through her damp curls that she seizures started. Max grabbed the bottle of Tryptophan and shoved a couple of tablets in her mouth before sliding to the floor to ride the seizures out until they subsided.

Standing on shaky legs, Max splashed some cold water on her face. When she picked up the Tryptophan bottle to put it away in the medicine cabinet, she noticed it was empty. "Damn." She would need some extra cash to get some more Tryptophan and fast. These seizures were worse than normal. In fact she was still shaking from them. Thankfully she wasn't shaking enough for anyone who didn't know that she got them to notice.

Trying to think of somewhere to get the money from wasn't easy, considering her head had started to pound. It was like someone was pounding on her brain with a jack hammer. Walter wasn't due to pick up the money that he was extorting from the squatters in the building for a few days. It would be enough money for her pills and it wouldn't take her long to find a way to pay the money back once her head stopped throbbing and her body stopped shaking.

Taking the money from Kendra's usual hiding place, Max quickly dressed and left for work. After making a quick stop at the vendor she used to get the Tryptophan for her, she rode to work safe in the knowledge that the vendor would have the tablets for her by the time she finished work.

The trick on getting through her day at work was first of all completely blocking the annoyance that was Normal out. If that man Bip, Bipped at her more than once she would end up doing something that would give away what she really was. Her shaking had calmed down enough to pass as a slight shudder. It still made riding a bike difficult.

Only eight hours to go until she got her medicine. Typical. She would have to have a full shift on the one day she could have done with spending the day in bed sleeping. Snatching a parcel out of Normal's hand before he could start his usual stream of insults, Max rode out into the cluttered streets. "Focus on the task at hand. That's what I've gotta do to get through the next few hours." She ignored the strange looks she was getting because she was talking to herself. "Of course a glass of milk wouldn't hurt."

The only time Max lost her focus on what she was aiming for, was when she passed Fogle Towers. She couldn't explain the need to go and visit Logan for no reason. Glancing at her watch she scolded herself. "Come on Max. Keep your eye on the prize. Only three hours to go."

Just as well, she only had three more hours of work as the seizures had started to get strong again. She would be lucky if she didn't shake herself off of her bike and get run over. She just hoped she had enough time to get the pills.

_The End_

   [1]: mailto:kirstent@clear.net.nz



	3. Flushed: The Missing Scene

**"Flushed - The Missing Scene"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** The scene I would have added to Flushed if I was being paid the big bucks.  
**Timeframe:** Flushed  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Romance  


------=====================------

Logan watched the sleeping beauty on his sofa. She looked so sweet and innocent, not to mention so young. As he stroked her silky hair he wondered how Max had gotten under his skin so quickly. He hadn't even known her a full six months and already he couldn't imagine his life without her picking the lock to his apartment.

Not wanting to leave her side, but worried Max might be getting cold, Logan went and fetched a blanket from the guest room. Max whimpered slightly but didn't wake when Logan stopped stroking her hair. That small sound was almost Logan's undoing.

Covering her with the blanket, Logan searched Max's angelic face for the woman with the razor sharp tongue and faultless moves. Tonight that woman was gone and an angel was in her place. Letting down his guard for an instance, Logan bent and kissed his angel's forehead.

Max moved closer, even in her sleep sensing Logan's warmth so near. Her sixth sense had kicked in when she had met Logan. It told her that she could trust him even if she couldn't trust what she suddenly felt for him. The feeling that she was safe with Logan only intensified when she felt Logan's lips on her forehead. After spending so much of her life running Max, still fast asleep edged towards the safety that was Logan.

Logan didn't know what he had expected, but it wasn't Max snuggling up to him. He knew that he should move away, but he couldn't seem to drag himself from the sleeping woman that had all but crawled into his lap.

He ached to kiss Max's full lips, but the memory of fairytales and what happened when the Prince kissed the Princess stopped him. Not that he was a Prince, but at the moment Max did fit the part of the Sleeping Princess perfectly.

Groaning as he reigned in his raging hormones, Logan lifted Max gently the rest of the way into his lap and wheeled them both into the guestroom. Max curled up against his chest showing off her feline side. Logan was hanging onto his best intentions by his fingertips.

As he pulled back the covers and carefully lifted Max onto the bed, he muttered to himself. "For God's sake man. She's ill. If she wasn't she'd be kicking your ass for even thinking about kissing her. It's not as though you can do anything else."

Tucking her in after removing her boots, he reached out and stroked Max's silky hair again. This was safer. This he wouldn't get his ass kicked for. He still couldn't believe how her beauty took his breath away every time he looked at her.

"Don't leave me." Max murmured in her sleep as Logan pulled away to leave and go to his bedroom. She reached out and clasped his hand in her tiny hand.

"I'm not going anywhere." Logan repeated his words from earlier. He couldn't leave her alone when she needed him. It had been too long since he had felt needed.

Max dragged herself up through the darkness of sleep to find herself staring up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Still half asleep, she sat up in the bed she now found herself in. Thinking that she was dreaming, since this had been what she had dreamt about when she actually slept, she leaned towards Logan. Only in her dreams could she follow her heart.

Logan thought that he would have a heart attack when Max's soft lips touched his. He almost pinched himself to make sure this was all real. Cause only in his dreams did Max kiss him as though she was pouring her heart and soul into that one kiss.

In all of her dreams, Max never remembered Logan's kisses feeling this real or this right. Although in her previous dreams, he was certainly more responsive. Running her tongue along his bottom lip, she felt the walls come down and Logan respond to her.

Logan told himself Max didn't know what she was doing. He tired to pull away, but when that talented tongue of hers ran across his bottom lip, he lost all control.

Tongues tangled and hands ran feverishly over bodies still safely encased in clothes. There was no control on either side as mouths, lips and tongues battled for a taste of forbidden fruit.

Reason finally fought it's way through Logan's conscious. Pulling back slowly partly because he did not want the kiss to end and partly because he felt that he was taking advantage of Max when she was ill, he lowered her back onto the bed. Tucking her back into the bed, Logan pushed himself away from temptation.

"Go back to sleep." Logan whispered. Stroking her hair once more he pushed himself further away from the bed.

Max grinned and closed her eyes snuggling beneath the blankets. "You always say that in my dreams." She drifted off to sleep unaware that everything that just happened was anything but a dream.

Logan spent the rest of the night watching Max from the other side of the room. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that Max thought that she had been dreaming when they kissed.

His deflated ego perked up slightly when he remembered what Max had said before she drifted off to sleep. She had been dreaming about him before. Max had dreamt about the two of them kissing. Perhaps he had gotten under her skin too.

When Max woke in the morning, she was back to her old self. After telling Logan off for letting her sleep for so long, she raced off to work yelling that Normal was going probably fire her for being late.

Once the door had slammed behind Max, Logan chuckled. "Well, I guess things are back to normal." He had no idea how wrong he was.

_The End_


	4. Between Flushed and CREAM

**"Inbetween Flushed and C.R.E.A.M."**  
by [Kirsten Tapp][1]

**Disclaimer:**

Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary:**

The happenings between episodes 3 and 4 of Season One.

**Spoilers:**

Flushed and C.R.E.A.M.

**Rating:**

PG

**Category:**

Drama, Romance

* * *

As Logan whipped up a quick meal for he and Max, he couldn't help but feel as though he had achieved a small victory. Ever since he had first met Max, while she was trying to rob him, he had been trying to get her to have dinner with him. And here she was tonight, demanding that he feed her.

Watching Max out of the corner of his eye, Logan saw that she had perched herself on one of his preparation benches. She looked so much like a pedigree cat he had, had when he was a child, just waiting to be fed.

Shifting himself from his wheelchair to a barstool so that he would be level with the bench to chop the vegetables he had removed from the fridge, he tried to make small talk. Now that he had Max here, he didn't want her to run off screaming because he pushed his luck.

"So did Cindy tell you that she and Kendra thought that I was dealing drugs to you." Logan chuckled. It was funny to be accused of being a drug dealer now that Max was safe. If Original Cindy had seen the battle that Bling had, had trying to get Logan to take his pain medication, she would have realized what a ludicrous suggestion it was.

Max giggled. "You're kidding. What made you the prime suspect?" She could just imagine Original Cindy demanding an explanation from Logan concerning her behavior.

Logan grinned at the sound of Max's giggle. It was like music to his ears. "It appears that Cindy noticed a lot of strange things started happening with you around the time you and I met. So she put two and two together and got five."

"What can I say, I have loyal friends." Max became serious for a moment. "I tried to tell them the truth, but they thought I was making up some cock and bull story to avoid telling them the truth. I can't blame them for not believing me. My life does sound like something out of a sci fi movie."

"Maybe it's safer for them to be kept in the dark." Logan busied himself making a stir fry while listening to Max. "Safer for you as well." He attempted to lighten the mood again. "At least your friends don't think that I'm your drug dealer anymore."

Max rolled her eyes, remembering the good natured ribbing she had gotten from her friends before she had left for Logan's place. "No, now they think you're my sugar daddy." She had to bite her tongue to stop from laughing at the expression that crossed Logan's face.

"You're kidding." Logan was glad that he hadn't been in the middle of eating when Max laid that particular comment on him. It was a sure bet that he would have choked if he had been. "I suppose that's a step up from drug dealer. What did you tell them?"

"I told them we were just friends." Max shrugged her shoulders. "I'm pretty sure they don't believe me." Dinner was smelling pretty good, but Max wasn't used to sitting around doing nothing for too long. "Can I do anything to help?"

"Yeah, can you set the table." Logan pointed to the cupboard where the plates were kept. "Do you do much cooking?"

Max hopped down off of the bench and started to set the table. "No. I can barly boil water. The best I can come up with is a sandwich. Being able to cook wasn't a requirement at Manticore. They were more concerned that we would be able to take the enemy down just using our thumbs."

"That's a nifty skill to have in the big wide world." Logan tired to joke, but Max's comment just served to remind him that she wasn't just the girl next door that she appeared. "You can never have too many thumb wrestlers in the world."

Max nodded. "I don't think the folks at Manticore thought that far ahead. I'd even bet they never considered that any of us might try to leave." She walked over to the fridge and grabbed the bottle of wine that Logan had recorked and put away from the night she had stayed because of her seizures. "Is this alright to go with dinner?"

Logan looked up from where he was dishing dinner onto some serving plates. "Yeah, that's fine. We probably need to use it up anyway." Seeing that particular bottle of wine reminded him of how Max's hair had felt like silk beneath his fingers as he stroked her hair. She had looked so small and helpless as she lay shaking on his sofa. It had almost broken his heart to hear her beg him not to leave her.

Despite being concerned about Max being ill, Logan had felt a sense of pride that she had felt safe enough with him to let her guard down long enough to fall asleep on his sofa. She hadn't stopped him from stroking her hair and forehead. In fact, she seemed to get comfort from his touch.

Over dinner they joked about the lame excuses that Sketchy kept coming up with to explain Max's absence at work. Logan had briefly seen Sketchy when he had gone to Jam Pony looking for Max when she hadn't responded to his pages.

"So Sketchy really thought that telling Normal that you had been detained by the Sector Police for practicing witchcraft, would really be believed." Logan shook his head and laughed. "When I went to Jam Pony looking for you, he started to say something about you being one of three finalists selected for something before Normal cut him off."

Max rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that would be about right. Knowing Sketchy, he was probably about to tell Normal that I was one of three finalists selected for the Olympic Mud Wrestling Team." She looked up from her empty plate at Logan. "Why'd you come looking for me at Jam Pony anyway?"

Logan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Well, I got worried when you didn't answer my pages. Since you had crashed out on my sofa the night before, I thought the seizures might have gotten bad while you were riding and you may have had an accident."

The truth was Logan had just about driven himself mad with the possibilities of what might have happened to Max. When he hadn't got a response to his first page, he just thought that she was ignoring him. He had even considered that she might be a little embarrassed over showing some weakness when her seizures got bad. By mid-morning he had to stop himself from calling the hospital to see if she had been brought in.

"Oh." That wasn't the answer that Max had expected. "I thought you had some 'Eyes Only' thing you needed some help with." She wasn't used to having someone know about her seizures and be worried about her. she started to clear the table so that she would be busy an have something else to thing about.

"Actually, I do have a case that I'm working on." Logan tried to quickly erase the awkwardness that had suddenly settled between them like a thick fog. "I'm just not sure what I'm going to do about it yet."

"What's the case?" Max started filling the sink with water. She figured the least she could do after such a fabulous meal, was the washing up.

Logan grabbed a towel so that he could dry the dishes while Max washed them. "Two years ago a former colleague of mine, Nathan Herrero disappeared. His daughter has contacted a source of mine. She wants 'Eyes Only' to find out what happened to her father."

"So, what's the problem?" Max handed Logan a soapy plate. It seemed safer to talk about work but every time Logan reached for a dish to dry, she remembered what it felt like to have those long fingers of his stroking her hair. "Doesn't 'Eyes Only' do missing persons?"

"Not usually." Logan had been battling over whether or not to actually take this case. Part of him felt that he should, out of loyalty to his friend. Another part warned him that he would be digging up more than the past. "I don't know that uncovering the circumstances behind Nathan's death, would actually be of any comfort to his daughter."

"So don't make your decision until you've met with the daughter." Max couldn't understand why Logan was making what seemed to be a simple case, so complicated.

Logan had looked upon Nathan as his mentor. Somehow meeting with his daughter meant the man he had put up on a pedestal would cease to be the invincible hero Logan had created in his head. "I guess it couldn't hurt to meet with Alina. Still, I wonder why she left it two years before trying to find out about her father's death."

"People mourn in different ways." Max drained the sink of water and reached for the towel to dry her hands. "Could be it's taken her two years to come to terms with her father's death." She tried not to react to the electricity she felt when Logan's fingers brushed hers, when handing her the towel.

"You could be right." Logan wondered if Max had felt the spark that had passed between them when their fingers brushed. "I'll set up a meeting and then make a decision." Logan felt slightly better having made some sort of move towards the case.

Max spotted the chess set by the coffee table in the living room. "So is that just for decoration, or do you actually play?" She pointed to the chess set.

"I actually play." Logan wheeled himself over to the chess set. "Want a game?" He didn't want the night to end and he had a feeling that Max would flee into the night if he didn't find a way to stall her.

Max glanced at her watch. It was getting late, but she knew that Maria was safe with Original Cindy and Kendra. Besides, for some reason she wasn't all that eager to leave just yet. "I guess I've got time for a quick game." She seated herself opposite Logan on the sofa. "I have to warn you though, I learnt how to play chess at Manticore."

"I consider myself forewarned." Logan flashed Max a smile. He was actually pretty good at chess. He played it when he needed some clarity in his thoughts. Playing against a woman of Max's beauty and smarts left him at a slight disadvantage though.

A short time later Max was crowing in victory, although she did acknowledge that Logan was a tougher opponent that she was used to. Before Logan could suggest they play another game, Max stood and grabbed her jacket. "Gotta blaze. I don't want to leave Maria for too long after all she's been though."

Logan tired not to show his disappointment. "Sure. See ya later. Thanks for the game."

"Thanks for dinner." Max shot back over her shoulder. Riding back to Original Cindy's crib, she admitted to herself that Logan was full of surprises. He could cook like a world class chef, play chess and even do his best to save the world. Time would tell if he would follow his heart or his head in regards to the Herrero case.

_The End_

   [1]: mailto:kirstent@clear.net.nz



	5. Between CREAM and 411 on the DL

**"Inbetween C.R.E.A.M and 411 on the DL"**  
by [Kirsten Tapp][1]

**Disclaimer:**

Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary:**

What happens at the end of CREAM leading up to the beginning of 411 on the DL.

**Spoilers:**

C.R.E.A.M and 411 on the DL

**Rating:**

PG

**Category:**

Drama/Romance

* * *

Logan coped with Nathan's death the same way he always coped with traumatic experiences. When he could walk, he would go for jogs and alternate them with his journalistic assignments. Now, instead of jogging he worked with weights until his arms felt as though they would drop off. But as always, the exhaustive workouts and the extensive research on articles didn't change or make the pain of his loss go away.

He blamed himself for Nathan's death. As cynical as he had seemed when he had first met with Alina as 'Eyes Only', he had actually wanted to believe that she wanted her father back. Max had been right. He had turned this case into being all about himself.

He had felt so betrayed when Max had told him that Nathan was alive. Logan had made Nathan into a great hero who had died trying to bring down the corruption in the world. At least that's the way everything had seemed in his head. Finding out that Nathan had faked his own death and stopped fighting for what he believed in, to stay alive had made Logan feel so alone. He felt as though he was fighting the war against corruption by himself, from a wheelchair.

When he had finished his 'Eyes Only' broadcast tonight, he had at least felt that he had made a small move towards making things right with Nathan, even though it was rather late in the piece.

"You know killing yourself with those weights isn't going to bring Nathan back." Max had let herself in. As was becoming a regular occurrence, she had done so without making enough noise to alert Logan to her presence until she was ready to have it known.

"I'm not trying to kill myself." Logan took the towel that Max held out to him and wiped his sweaty face. "I'm trying to work through some things in my head." Realizing that he hadn't paged Max, Logan started to wonder what she was doing there in his apartment. "So what's up? I'm sorry I haven't got any further searching for your family."

Max shrugged her shoulders. "No problem. I thought you'd like to know I caught up with Alina. It was the strangest thing. The money she got for turning her father in to the highest bidder, most of it went flying off of the train. I figure the way the wind was blowing, all that money probably made it to Canada." She gave Logan a small smile. "All Alina has left to keep her warm at night is her hate."

Logan pulled his glasses off of the neckline of his shirt and put them back on his face. "Hate doesn't keep you warm for long. It does eat away at you though until you're just a shell of a person."

"You speaking from experience?" Max knew that Logan took his 'Eyes Only' cases personally, but she couldn't imagine him hating anyone.

"Not exactly." Logan stayed sitting on his workout bench as his arms felt like led from overdoing the weight lifting. If he tried to move to his chair at that moment, he would probably end up face first on the floor. "I watched hate eat away at more than one member of my family and money doesn't help change them, or stop the hate."

Max considered what Logan had said. "I guess I've never cared enough about anything to be able to hate. The closest I can claim is how I feel about what Lydecker and Manticore did to us." Max moved to sit on the other end of the workout bench. "I figure it must take a skill that Manticore didn't teach us to be able to hate."

Logan allowed himself to smile a little. "You mean there's actually something you can't do?"

Max grinned at Logan, relieved to see he was pulling himself out of his depression, if only for a moment. "I didn't say I couldn't do it. I just haven't been trained to hate. Hate is an emotion. We were taught at Manticore that emotions make you weak."

"Some do." Logan found himself despising Lydecker even though he had never met the man. Anyone who wanted to keep someone as vibrant as Max in a cage and stop her from showing any emotion should be locked away himself. "Some emotions make you stronger. Keeping your emotions locked up inside you, that's what makes you weak."

Max knew in her heart what Logan was saying was true, but after being told the opposite for most of her childhood, it had become difficult to put to practice. "So are you going to admit that you miss Nathan, or are you going to numb all the feeling in your body by lifting weights all night?" She had a sneaking suspicion that Logan had already overdone things. 

"I wish I could have spent more time with Nathan." Logan finally admitted it. "I wasted my time being pissed with him for wanting to lead a comfortable life. I figured that because I kept fighting no matter what the danger was, that he should as well. I don't blame Nathan for not wanting to end up in a wheelchair or dead. Ironic how things still ended up working that way. All because I wanted to reunite Alina with her father."

Max reached out and touched Logan's hand without a second thought. "You don't get to blame yourself for Nathan's death. Alina had me fooled as well, remember. You made sure that people knew what a great man Nathan was.'

"Better late than never, I guess." Logan decided to change the subject instead of feeling sorry for himself. "So how's work been going? Has Sketchy come up with any new excuses for you being late for work?"

Max shook her head and chuckled. "No, this time the fool lost some money he got from some mobsters. Original Cindy and I went and won enough money for him to pay his debt and then this morning, that idiot suggests we make a career out of ripping off casinos together. Can you believe that?"

Logan laughed. "I'm sure he just saw it as grabbing an opportunity as it arose."

"It was him grabbing an opportunity that got him in trouble in the first place." Max pointed out. "This isn't the first time I've had to save his sorry ass. About a month back he was cheating on his girlfriend. I had to rescue him from the physco chick he was seeing on the side. It's beginning to feel as though I have three jobs. One working for Jam Pony, one doing leg work for you and one watching Sketchy's back."

"Ah, but at least doing leg work for me comes with a free gourmet meal." Logan joked.

Max smiled. "Yeah, working with you does come with some bonus'."

"I'll keep trying to dig up anything I can on your family." Logan didn't want Max to think that he wouldn't keep his end of their bargain.

"I know." Max wondered for a moment if Logan would ever go back to the arrogant, self assured man that had stood her in front of an expensive mirror. "You're lucky you have your gourmet cooking as a backup Chef Cale. My family were taught well how to cover their tracks. I think I got the easier part of the deal. Kicking ass is what I was made for."

"Well, I'm not giving up the search." Logan gave Max a devilish grin, a little of the old Logan showing itself. "Besides I like a challenge." When Logan had been shot, he had lost more than the feeling of his body below the waist. He had also lost a lot of his confidence. His determination to make the world a better place had remained firmly intact though. If anything, it was stronger than ever.

"So I've noticed." Max knew she was flirting with danger. Somehow, without realizing it Logan had found his way under the wall she had built around her. She sensed that she was starting to break through the brick wall Logan had built around himself since the accident, brick by brick as well. "I'd better go so that you can get your beauty sleep." She wrinkled up her nose. "And a shower."

Logan nodded as he watched Max leave. When she was in the room, he had to fight hard to concentrate on something other than the gorgeous woman in the room with him. He had completely forgotten the sweat he had worked up pushing himself beyond his limits. Slowly and cautiously, he shifted himself into his chair. He almost ended up on the floor as he had feared, when at the last minute his arms announced their protest at being worked so hard. Narrowly making it into his chair, Logan made his way to the shower. No doubt his body would be aching tomorrow, the parts of his body he could actually feel. With any luck a hot shower would stop his muscles from protesting too loudly.

Max had waited outside Logan's apartment listening to make sure that Logan made it into his chair alright. She knew that he wouldn't want her to see him struggle, but she had wanted to make sure that he was alright.

There were still a lot hours to fill before it was time to go to work. Not needing very much sleep, Max loved the night. It seemed such a waste to sleep when there were better ways to pass the dark hours of the night.

Climbing on her bike, Max's face lit up with pure joy when she started her most prized pocession up and heard it's deep purr. "Come on Baby. Let's find some fun." She spoke to the motorcycle with such affection.

Roaring into the night, Max rode with the wind blowing through her dark hair. It didn't take long for her to find a playmate. Another night rider was only too happy to take up Max's unspoken challenge. Her challenger's identity was hidden beneath a dark motorcycle helmet, but it made no difference to Max. She was happy just to play the game.

_The End_

   [1]: mailto:kirstent@clear.net.nz



	6. Between 411 on the DL and Prodigy

**"Inbetween 411 on the DL and Prodigy"**  
by [Kirsten Tapp][1]

**Disclaimer:**

Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary:**

What happens at the end of 411 on the DL leading up to the beginning of Prodigy.

**Spoilers:**

411 on the DL and Prodigy

**Rating:**

PG

**Category:**

Drama/Romance

* * *

It seemed as though it rained non stop in Seattle sometimes. Still it had suited Logan's mood tonight. He couldn't believe that Valerie had played him again. Like Max, Logan had wanted someone that he felt a connection with. He too, had been left disillioned by his choice of person to connect with.

He and Max had decided to go for a spin in the rain and here they stood, or in his case sat in the rain. When Logan looked up at Max, he couldn't help but gasp at her beauty. She had her head slung back with her face upturned welcoming the rain to pour down on her. Her wet hair clung to her elegant neck, yet he had never seen her look more beautiful. "I thought that cats didn't like the rain."

Max smiled down at Logan. "Back at Manticore, Jondy and I were convinced we must have some shark DNA in us cause we don't need a lot of sleep. Could be that's why I like the water." The joy fell from her face when she remembered the Manticore sibling that she had been the closest to. "Zack knows where the others are. He won't tell me their positions because he thinks I'll put them at risk."

"That's gotta be tough on you." Logan knew how badly Max wanted to find her siblings.

Max shrugged her shoulders trying to pretend that she didn't care. The truth was that it had cut her to the core that Zack believed she would compromise the others. "Maybe Zack will learn to leave Manticore in the past where it belongs. Until he does that, there's no chance of him living anything close to a real life."

"There's hope for him yet." Logan just wanted that stunning smile back lighting up Max's beautiful face. "Until then, we'll just have to keep looking for your brothers and sisters ourselves."

She knew Logan was just trying to make Max feel better. "I thought we were going for a spin. Do you want to use your car incase your chair becomes a lightening conductor?" She grinned at Logan's hair which had changed from it's usual spikes to flat due to the rain. "Or is that how you style your hair?" She joked.

"Very funny." Logan relaxed once Max was smiling again. "I've never had complaints about my hair style before."

"Who's complaining?" Max tried to look serious and failed miserably. "I was just looking for styling tips."

"Yeah right." Logan started to roll his chair down the street knowing Max would follow him. "I think you should stick with the curls." He noticed her hair had gone quite straight from the weight of the rain in it. "Although this straight look you've got going on at the moment works too."

"Thanks. I'll take your opinions on hair fashion into consideration when I'm getting ready for work tomorrow." Max teased. She had missed Logan this week. All of his attention had been on his ex-wife and Max hadn't realized how much that would bother her until it had happened.

"You're welcome." Logan felt as though he had neglected Max this past week. He had even felt guilty when Max had run into he and Valerie outside Fogle Towers, although he wasn't sure why. It wasn't as though he and Max had that sort of relationship. The most they did was a bit of harmless flirting. It didn't mean anything. It couldn't mean anything.

"Hey. Are you still in there?" Max waved her hand in front of Logan's face. He seemed a million miles away. "What were you just thinking about?"

"Nothing important." He hadn't realized he was so transparent. "So did you get your bike back?" He knew her bike had been put into the impound lot by the Sector Police and since he hadn't lent her the money, he wondered where she might have obtained the cash.

Max nodded. "I broke into the impound lot and took it back. You know they're lucky my baby wasn't hurt or I would seriously be kicking some ass right now."

"God, I thought guys were fanatical about their cars." Logan chuckled. "Weren't you going to upgrade your bike anyway? I seem to remember you saying something about that."

"I didn't think you were listening, as you were unconscious at the time." Max wondered what else that she had said that night, he had heard.

"That explains why the memory's so hazy." Logan stopped long enough to wipe the rain off of his glasses. "So does that mean you're sticking with the same bike."

"Yeah. That bike is like an extension of my soul." Max shook her head when she remembered finding Kendra's laundry hanging all over her precious motorcycle a while back. "I couldn't believe that I found Kendra drying her laundry on it one time."

Logan pretended to be shocked. "How could she? Surely she knows how you feel about your bike."

"I know. I couldn't believe it either." Max realized that Logan was teasing her. "Hey how would you feel if someone messed up your kitchen?" She had come to see that Logan was quite a perfectionist in the kitchen. Everything had it's own place and he could get quite touchy if something wasn't put back in the right place.

"Fair enough." Logan could see Max's point. "So despite the fact that Zack was still in Manticore CO form, was he what you expected him to grow up to be? Maybe just a little bit?"

Max stopped walking to think about Logan's question. "I'm still not really sure what I expected. I guess I thought that he would try and leave Manticore behind like I did. I never thought for a moment that if he knew where the others were, that he would still keep us separated."

"I'm sure he's just trying to keep you all safe." Logan wasn't sure why he was defending someone he had never met. "He just doesn't know any other way to do that." Max looked so lost and alone at that moment, that all Logan wanted to do was pull her into his arms and hold her.

"I know." Max saw understanding in Logan's blue eyes and knew that although Logan wasn't genetically engineered he was a lot like her in some ways. They hadn't known each other long, but there were times when he knew her better than she knew herself. "What about you? What did you expect when Valerie suddenly turned up?"

"I didn't expect her to be sober." Logan admitted. "Maybe I wanted to grab hold of a part of my life before I got shot that was staring me in the face. It's great that Valerie's sober, I just wish she had made the effort while we were married." Valerie had actually made him feel good about himself, like the wheelchair didn't matter. But it had all been an act to get her hands on more of his money. She had made him feel like nothing more than a wallet. That hurt him more than anything.

Max watched the torment cross Logan's face. "Better that you learnt now. Though part of you knew she was playing you, didn't you."

"Yeah." Logan turned his chair around so that they could head back. "But the other part of me wanted to believe that I was more than a human equivalent to an ATM machine." He had never been more conscious of his wheelchair than he was now. Valerie had found his greatest weakness and played on it.

Max leaned forward trapping Logan's hands on the wheels of his chair and looked him straight in the eye. "I don't see the chair and I don't see your wallet." For some reason, a reason Max herself wasn't sure of, she needed Logan to see himself through her eyes. "I see a man who ignores his wealth in favor of helping others, myself included."

"Thank you." Logan knew that he should say more, but he couldn't find the words. He was looking into the face of an angel and she was telling him that his disability and financial situation meant nothing to her. Yet the only two words he could find to express himself were Thank You. It didn't seem enough.

Max let go of Logan's hands. "You're welcome." She walked beside Logan's chair as they headed back towards Fogle Towers. Max felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Logan could be so easy to talk to. The fact that he had felt secure enough to talk to her about Valerie touched her. "I can't believe how far we've walked."

Logan chuckled. "My arms will probably be killing me in the morning, but this was kind of fun." He had been surprised at how easy it had been talking to Max.

Max agreed. "It's not every night you get to go out in the rain." She joked, knowing full well that it rained frequently in Seattle.

Logan laughed. "Look at it this way, there's no danger of sunburn. There's a possibility we might drown though."

"No chance." Max turned so that she was facing Logan and walking backwards. "I have been trained to hold my breath under water for long periods of time. So since you're with me, that means you're perfectly safe." She spun around so that she was walking forward again.

"Well, I guess the only thing I have to worry about is being hit by lightening." Logan felt so carefree.

"I offered to go in your car." Max reminded him. This was the first time she had seen Logan let go of all his problems and just enjoy himself since he had been shot.

"Where's your sense of adventure." Logan actually allowed himself to dream a little. With Max by his side, he let himself believe he had a non-work related future with the dark haired angel that walked beside him.

Logan's dreams managed to close out the dreary reality all the way back to his apartment where they dried off and settled down to a meal together. It wasn't until the next morning when Logan fell over backwards in his chair that reality came crashing back in on him.

As Logan frantically up righted his chair and pulled himself back into it, he mentally berated himself for his dreams as Max searched the apartment calling for him. What would a woman as perfect as Max want with a cripple like him. Self pity and loathing was back with a vengeance and they would always be lurking in the back of his mind.

_The End_

   [1]: mailto:kirstent@clear.net.nz



	7. Between Prodigy and Cold Comfort

_Zaz's note: Fanfiction.net has, in its latest act of stupidity, banned the use of the table tag - I wonder what they were smoking. - The result is what you see below, and there is no way to get around it unless the royal morons of this webpage return to their senses._

**"Inbetween Prodigy and Cold Comfort"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What the title says.  
**Spoilers:** Prodigy and Cold Comfort  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  
**Author's Notes:** Thanks to everyone that has reviewed my stories. As much as I would like to write these stories full time, I have a full time job and have to do my story writing on my tea breaks and after work. Still, who knows, maybe James Cameron will wise up to the brilliance of the writers on fanfiction.net and employ us all to write a new series of Dark Angel for him. (Hey, Dreams are free.)  


------=====================------

Max and Logan stood watching each other for a moment. After a day full of Lydecker, terrorists and crashing through a window together, it was nice just to be in the same room without any dramas.

"So, how about I make us some dinner." Logan finally broke the silence. If he stared at Max for too much longer, she might freak and race out the door.

"Sounds good." Max replied. It had struck her how close she had come to losing Logan today. They had actually become quite good friends despite being from totally different sides of the track. At least that's what she told herself. "I'll just let Kendra know where I am. After today, she's a bit freaked out."

"That's understandable. This sort of thing doesn't happen everyday to her." Logan realized that for he and Max, the life threatening situation was becoming a regular occurrence. "Why don't you call her while I start dinner."

"Thanks." She quickly dialed her home number. "Hey Kendra. I'm staying at Logan's for dinner. Are you gonna be alright by yourself?"

Kendra chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, Original Cindy's here. You just enjoy dinner with your rich boyfriend. Don't hurry home on my account." She couldn't believe that Max and Logan spent so much time together and weren't banging the gong. "Take all the time you need."

Max rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you, he's not my boyfriend. I'll see ya later." She hung up the phone, grateful that Kendra wasn't alone. She wished her friend would stop jumping to the conclusion that she and Logan were more than just friends. Although she couldn't understand why Logan was still single. He could cook, he cared about others and whether she liked to admit it or not, he was pretty damn hot.

Logan hadn't thought twice about turning himself over to Darius as a trade for the women hostages. He knew Max could take care of herself, but it had terrified him when Bling had called him over to the television. Knowing Max was in the building and exactly what Darius would do for his latest cause, overrode all reason in Logan's head.

Logan tried to convince himself that he was only doing what any good friend would do, but he knew deep down inside it was more than that. He dragged himself back from his thoughts as Max walked into the kitchen. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah. Original Cindy's with Kendra." Max took her usual seat on the preparation bench watching Logan cook dinner. "I don't think today's events will leave her scared for life, thank God."

"What about you?" Logan guessed that Lydecker had been unaware that he was so close to one of his escaped X5s. "Can't have been too easy on you being that close to your childhood nightmare."

Max shrugged her shoulders. "I'll get over it. At least he didn't get his hands on another kid to turn into a toy soldier." It made her shudder to think what might have happened to Jude if she hadn't got to him in time.

"Thanks to you." Logan was positive that anyone else would have left Jude and only worried about getting themselves to safety.

Max rolled her eyes. "I guess it takes a freak to know a freak." She had felt as though she and Jude shared a common bond. Although Jude hadn't been created in a test tube, he had still been somebody's science project.

"I prefer to think of you as unique." Logan had come to understand that Max considered her abilities more of a hindence most of the time.

Max cast him a sly smile. "Unique huh? If I'm so unique, how do you explain my siblings?" She couldn't help but be flattered by his comment.

Logan flashed her a toothy grin. "Well, I didn't see any of your siblings leaping off the top of a building to save my ass. Or did I miss seeing them?" He had been a little hurt when Max had called him her meal ticket, but he knew she had been joking.

"No. If there had been more of the Manticore escapees, that hostage situation would have been over with a lot quicker." Max announced proudly. Then the reality of what she had said hit her. "The body count probably would have been higher as well."

"Well, then it's just as well you handled the situation by yourself." Logan handed Max two plates loaded with food, while he picked out a bottle of wine. He had never known a woman that could pack away food like Max and not put on an once of weight.

Max put the plates down on the table. Obviously Logan had been expecting her, as the table had already been set. "I had a little help." She was happy to admit now, that Logan had bought her some time. "Of course having yourself thrown off the top of the building was a bit excessive."

Logan chuckled as he shuddered from the memory of falling and looking up to see Max coming after him. "It's an extreme way to get over my fear of heights." He joked as he transferred into the dinning room chair after placing the wine on the table.

Max giggled. "Did it work?"

"Hell no." Logan poured the wine into two glasses. "If anything, it may have made it worse." He raised his glass. "Here's to remembering to steal hotel towels."

"I'll drink to that." Max raised her glass as well. "You know what I don't get?" She took a sip of her wine. "Darius didn't want Jude to be used as a science experiment, so his motives were good. So why'd he have to bring a gun into the picture? You can't terrify people into doing what's right."

Logan could see the situation from both Max and Darius' sides. "Unfortunately, people that want to do what's right often get ignored. The world's become so cynical that everyone tends to look out for number one, unless forced to pay attention. Often guns are brought in to grab the public's attention. It's not right no more than taking a group of people hostage to save a child from one life, only to have him raised in another life that was no more normal and healthy than the one he was being taken from."

Max raised and lowered her eyebrows. "I don't know what's worse. Being used as a science experiment or learning how to use a gun so that you can bully people into doing the right thing. So what if you kill a few people to make the world a better place. It's all for the greater good." Max looked up from her dinner to see Logan watching her. His beautiful blue eyes seemed to look right into her soul, past the sarcasium. "At least Dr Tanaka seemed to care about Jude. For the most part he seemed to want to help people."

The thing that had struck Max while at the conference about Jude, was that not once had she seen the little boy smile. He was clearly devoted to Dr Tanaka, but not once had he looked happy. Jude had sat at the piano with such a hollow look in his eyes. He did what he was instructed to do without question, but took no joy in playing the beautiful piece of music on the piano.

Logan watched Max process the events of the day in her head. He could almost hear her mind ticking over. "Well, I've found a home for Jude through a contact of mine. They're good people who'll raise him as a normal kid. They have a couple of boys around Jude's age, so he'll have a couple of instant playmates."

"Where were you when I was put into foster homes?" Max half heartedly joked. "Maybe you should open your own orphanage."

"Nah." Logan pretended that he didn't know that Max wasn't totally joking. "It wouldn't leave me enough time to save the world and track down your siblings."

"You found out anything else on my brothers and sisters?" Max was grateful to be able to change the subject.

"No, not yet." Logan had been able to get hold of Vogelsang's files, but the man hadn't found much on the children that had escaped from Manticore. "I was thinking though, if Zack was hanging around in Seattle even if it was just to check up on you, maybe some of the others are closer than you think."

Max shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's possible. Stranger things have happened to me."

Brin walked through the streets of Seattle. She had to find somewhere with ice and fast. What little medical treatment she had managed to get in LA before Lydecker and his goon squad had descended on her, had taught her that the best way to slow down whatever was happening to her was to bring down her core temperature.

She had found out that Zack had headed for Seattle, so she had followed him. Hopefully between them they could figure out what was making her ill and fix it. As soon as she brought her temperature down, Brin would phone the contact number and meet with Zack.

Keeping to the shadows so that she wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention, Brin spotted a store advertising frozen cuts of meat. It was perfect. There would have to be a freezer in there and it looked as though the store was about to close. Quickly darting into the store while the lights were flicking off one by one, Brin made her way to the rear of the store.

She waited until she heard the sound of the door being locked, before locating the freezer. The only thing that was locking the freezer was a padlock which Brin easily broke. Finding a space behind a frozen carcass, she sank down on the floor with a sigh of relief. Closing her eyes she relaxed. She would be safe here until morning, then she would get hold of Zack.

In the freezer she stayed all night, until two Spanish men found her upon opening store in the morning. She had scared the hell out of them when she had opened her eyes and bolted out of the freezer and the store. She had one purpose: to get hold of Zack.

_The End_


	8. Between Cold Comfort and Blah, Blah, Woo...

**"Inbetween Cold Comfort and Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Cold Comfort and Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof.  
**Spoilers:** Prodigy and Cold Comfort  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


------=====================------

Max couldn't believe Brin was back at Manticore. She had only just got her sister back. It was so unfair. None of them had realized when they had escaped from Manticore, what a botched up job had been done with them. The seizures Max could handle, but Brin's illness shook her to the core.

She felt a sense of pride in the way Logan had handled Zack's aggressive attitude. Refusing to be intimidated by her brother despite knowing what he was capable of, gave her even more reason to respect what Logan stood for.

She hadn't been prepared for Logan to warn her to be careful though. That meant he cared about her, which scared her. The last person, make that guy she had let close to her had been cheating on her with one of her so called friends. She wasn't going to let that happen again. Still, she couldn't picture Logan doing that to her. It was something to consider, when he wasn't sitting across the table from her.

Logan ate his dinner silently observing Max, not wishing to disturb her from her thoughts. Not having any brothers or sisters of his own, he could only guess what it must feel like to get in touch with your sister only to lose her again.

After meeting Zack, he was even more confused about his feelings for Max. He had picked up a strange vibe off of Zack when he had asked Logan what was between he and Max. It wasn't the first time his intentions had been questioned by somebody's brother. But Logan had felt that Zack's reasoning behind his question was more than brotherly concern.

Max glanced up from her dinner to see the concerned look on Logan's face. "Sorry, I guess I'm not really hungry." She misunderstood his expression and hastily added. "The food's great though."

Logan studied her for a moment before speaking. "It was Brin's choice to go back, Max. It's not your fault Manticore didn't find out and fix any problems before they decided to play God and make a team of perfect soldiers."

"I know." It was as though Logan had been able to read her thoughts. "I just wish I could have had more time with her. Instead we end up on the run from Lydecker. Again." Max shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it was stupid to get my hopes up."

Logan shook his head. "It's never stupid to have hope Max. There was nothing that you and Zack could do for Brin. It would have killed you watching your sister die if she hadn't let Lydecker help her." He wondered if he was getting through to Max.

Max stared at Logan. "You're just saying that to make me feel better." She wasn't about to tell Logan that it was working.

"You know that's not true." Logan gave her a mock frown. "Besides, how else am I supposed to get you to eat all of your dinner?" He grinned. "I'm guessing if I tried to spoon feed you, you'd probably deck me."

Max laughed. She couldn't stop herself. The image of Logan trying to feed her while she clamped her mouth shut and crossed her arms in front of her like a child refusing to eat her greens, was just too funny. "Probably." She stopped playing with her food and ate a mouth full. "Where'd you learn to cook this good."

The grin fell from Logan's face. "I took a few classes after Valerie started hitting the bottle. It was either learn to cook or starve. We couldn't go out to restaurants because Valerie was always so plastered that she couldn't sit up straight." Logan shrugged off the self pity. "Still, at least feeding you, I know for sure my cooking's good."

"So I'm basically being fed to boost your ego." Max teased, not that she was complaining. She couldn't remember eating food that tasted this good before she had met Logan.

Logan was relieved that Max's mood had brightened up, so he let her teasing slide. "I guess you could look at it that way." A sudden surge of guilt flowed over Logan. What if Zack was right? Maybe he was putting Max in further danger, wanting her to stay in Seattle. Logan pushed the thought aside, reasoning that Zack was probably just jealous because Max wouldn't leave with him.

"What's wrong?" Max noticed the worried look on Logan's face.

Logan hadn't realized his emotions were showing so close to the surface. "Do you think it's safe enough for you, staying in Seattle now that Lydecker knows what you look like?" As much as Logan wanted Max to stay, he didn't want her in any unnecessary danger either. 

"I'll keep my head down." Max tried to reassure him. "It's not as though Lydecker knows where I work or live. I'm not exactly listed in the phone book."

"I guess you're right." Logan knew in the back of his mind that Lydecker wouldn't stop until he had hunted down all of his kids. "Do you want to play a game of Chess?"

"Not tonight." Max stood and carried the dishes to the sink. "I promised Original Cindy I'd meet her at Crash. She wants to tell me how they stopped the guy interested in buying Jam Pony from signing the cheque. How about tomorrow night?"

"No problem." Logan was already working out what he would cook for dinner. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

Max grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. "Thanks for dinner. See ya tomorrow."

An hour later Max was laughing as Original Cindy, Herbal and Sketchy relayed the days antics. "How long were you locked in that room for Sketch?" She wiped the tears away that were running down her face from laughing so hard.

"Too long." Sketchy was grinning from ear to ear. "I tell ya, I've never seen anyone so eager to get away from Jam Pony and that really something considering everyone that works for Jam Pony wants to leave."

Original Cindy nudged Max. "So where've you been tonight, Boo? Spending time with your sugar?" She grinned mischievously. 

"He's not my sugar." Max groaned. "He cooked dinner, we ate, I left. That's all there is to it."

"Rich boy cooks?" Original Cindy was surprised . "He doesn't get someone into do the cooking? Is he any good?"

Max grinned. "The man is a God in the kitchen. I have never tasted food that good before."

"So what's he like in the bedroom?" Original Cindy wiggled her eyebrows.

Max rolled her eyes. "I don't know. We're not like that."

"Why not?" Original Cindy demanded. "Don't tell me the boy doesn't heat your blood. I've seen the way he looks at you like you're dessert on his dinner menu."

"Is this the guy in the wheelchair that came looking for Max at Jam Pony a couple of months back?" Sketchy looked up from his beer, his words slurring. 

"That's him." Original Cindy grinned. "He's kinda hot for a member of the three legged species."

Sketchy nodded. "O.C's right. He's got it bad for you. Being rich is a bonus for you."

Max raised her palm out in front of her. "Stop right there. We are just friends who eat the occasional meal together."

"Kendra tells me that you spend too long over at Rich Boy's apartment to just be eating dinner." Original Cindy nudged Herbal. "Whatcha think Max and Logan are doing at that big ole apartment of his after they finish dinner?"

Herbal opened his mouth to answer, but was met with an icy stare from Max. He shrugged. "The washing up."

"If you must know, we play Chess." Max's patience was wearing thin with her friend's teasing. "If I'd known that you guys were going to hassle me this much, I've would have stayed and beat Logan at Chess four or five times."

Original Cindy put her arm around Max's shoulders. "Come on Boo. You know we're only teasing you because we care." She realized she'd probably hit the nail on the head regarding Max's feelings for Logan and that was why her friend was getting so snappy. As long as she had known Max, her friend hadn't liked to admit she had a weakness of any kind.

"I know, it's just sometimes you guys care too much." Max didn't want to analyze her friendship with Logan to pieces. She enjoyed having dinner with him, then playing a couple of games of Chess with him while forgetting that the rest of the world existed. "So get your caring over and done with, because I will be at Logan's tomorrow night for the Chess game I missed out on tonight and he will probably have dinner ready by the time I get there."

"Have a good time." Herbal was the only one that spoke after Max's outburst, although Sketchy did ask Original Cindy later if it was that time of the month for Max.

Max sat in Logan's apartment the following night in the process of beating him for the fifth time that night. Even though dinner had been delicious, there was something off with Logan. She usually beat him at Chess, but tonight he seemed to take even longer to make each move than usual. She had also noticed that Logan was a little pale and hadn't eaten very much dinner.

When Max beat Logan again he managed to joke about her unfairly using her superhero powers to take advantage of him. He was surprised when she asked him to join her at crash. He was so tempted to say yes, but the pains that had been shooting through his back for most of the day reminded him that he would only slow her down and hold her back from having fun.

When Max had left, Logan had a hot shower to try ease the pain but it didn't work. He had been hoping to avoid going to his doctor. Going to the doctor quite often involved needles, and he hated needles. Another sharp stabbing pain forced him to make the phone call. He would call Bling in the morning to let him know about his Doctor's appointment, so that his physical therapist wouldn't be alarmed when Logan wasn't in his apartment. Time would tell exactly what was wrong.

_The End_


	9. Between Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof and Out

**"Inbetween Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof and Out"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof and Out.  
**Spoilers:** Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof and Out  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


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Max paced back and forth in her apartment. Just when she thought things were going great with she and Logan, she had to go and kiss Logan good bye. It had made things so complicated. She had brushed it off at the hospital as her just being emotional. Max was amazed that she hadn't been struck by lightening for that lie. At least Logan hadn't known she was lying.

Kendra had come home from a date with Mr Multiples to find Max wearing a hole in the floor. "Is Logan alright? I thought you said that he was recovering quickly." She knew how worried her friend had been when Logan had been rushed into hospital.

Max stopped pacing. "Logan's fine. In fact he's being released from hospital tomorrow. The nurses probably got fed up of him complaining about hospital food."

Kendra was confused. "If Logan's fine, why are you pacing."

"Just thinking." Max went back to her pacing. What the hell had that dream been about? For a moment at the hospital, she had wondered if they had shared the dream while she had been transfusing Logan.

Obviously Max wasn't going to tell her what was really going on in her head, so Kendra tried another approach. "You could invite him over for dinner."

Max stopped so suddenly that she nearly fell over. "The man is only just getting out of the hospital and you're suggesting I put him back in there with food poisoning."

Kendra had to admit, cooking was not Max's strength. "I'll help you." Though from what Max had told her about Logan's culinary skills, Kendra would have to cook up something flash.

The idea of having Logan over for dinner held some appeal. "I should repay him for all of the dinners that he's cooked for me." Max looked hopefully at Kendra. "So can you help me cook Pasta Tricolore?"

"Sure." Kendra flicked through the pages of a recipe book until she found the right recipe. "Here's what ingredients we're going to need." She handed the recipe book to Max. "I'm heading to bed. When are you going to ask Logan over for dinner?"

"Bling's going to bring him home from the hospital, so I thought I'd meet them at Logan's apartment." Max thought back to their kiss outside the cabin. God that man was a great kisser. 

"Ok. See ya in the morning." Kendra disappeared into her room.

Max sat down on the sofa. She didn't know what had possessed her to kiss Logan. Of course, she did think it was the last time she was ever going to see him. She hadn't wanted to miss the chance of doing what she had wanted to do, when he had first stood her in front of the mirror in his apartment.

She had obviously been listening to her friends for too long. She shook her head mentally arguing with herself. She couldn't blame this on her friend's teasing or the fact that she had chosen going back to Logan in Seattle over running to Canada with Zack. 

If Logan had asked her to stay with him in Seattle when she had kissed him outside the cabin, Max knew that she wouldn't have hesitated to say yes despite the danger. Max was not used to caring for a guy so much that she would risk her life for him.

To add to her confusion, she still couldn't believe that Zack had handed himself over to Lydecker on a silver platter. He had been so against Max going back to Seattle. The strange part had been that it seemed that Zack had been more angry that she was going back to Logan, than the fact that she would be placing herself in the center of a dangerous situation.

Max grabbed her jacket and walked her motorcycle down to the street. If she sat in her apartment arguing with herself, she would drive herself crazy. What she needed to do was clear her head. Riding her baby was the best way to do that.

Logan played that kiss over in his head over and over again. His first thought after feeling as though he had been kissed by an angel, was why had she kissed him? Of course, at the time it had seemed as though Max wouldn't be coming back. Neither of them had thought they'd ever see each other again, so there wouldn't have been any repercussions. So why did she come back?

It had torn Logan's heart in two when he had encouraged Max to go with Zack. He would have loved to ask Max to stay with him, but he couldn't risk her life like that. It didn't help that he could see that Zack was in love with Max, even though Max only considered him to be a brother.

Still Max had ditched Zack to get back to him. Logan knew that he shouldn't be so happy about it, but he felt as though his feelings for Max weren't as one sided as he had originally thought. The memory of the rejected look on Max's face when he had told her to just go, had gripped at his heart every time he thought about it. If she had known how desperately he wanted to take her in his arms and beg her to let him go with her, he figured he would have probably scared her off.

Staring out of his hospital room window, Logan wondered if Max was as confused as he was. At least she was able to go out into the night and ride her motorbike to clear her head. He was stuck in the hospital until tomorrow when he would head back to his empty apartment.

He had never hated his disability more than when he couldn't run with Max. Watching her walk into the cabin where Zack was waiting for her, had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. Not so long ago, he wouldn't have been that unselfish. In the past Logan would have insisted that he come first. A lot had changed when he had been shot and not just the fact that he was stuck in a wheelchair. His whole attitude towards people had changed. He still wanted to help those in need, but he wasn't as selective as he once had been.

His attitude towards Max had changed. Instead of looking at her as just another beautiful female to pass the time with, he saw her as a friend and partner. He enjoyed the evenings they spent dinning together and playing Chess. He cared about her so much that he was willing to let her go away to Canada with another man.

Then there was that dream. It had almost seemed as though they had shared the same dream, but that wasn't possible. Was it?

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Logan closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Sleep would not come to him though. His mind was too busy replaying the same scene over and over again. Max heading towards the cabin, then turning and walking back to the car and kissing him. He could still feel her lips on his, her hands on his face. No way was he getting any sleep tonight.

When Bling showed up the next morning at the hospital to pick Logan up, he noticed his friend looked exhausted. "Are you sure you're alright to leave here?"

Logan quickly dismissed the idea of staying in the hospital any longer. "I'll sleep better in my own bed." He transferred himself into his wheelchair. "Let's go." He was a little disappointed. For some reason he thought Max might have been there today. She knew he was getting out of hospital. Determined not to feel sorry for himself, Logan figured Max was probably at work. After all, she couldn't put her life on hold just for him.

Bling handed Logan his packed bag and went to sign him out of the hospital. Knowing Logan, he would probably get back to his apartment and bury himself in work. Bling shook his head muttering to himself. "That man just doesn't know how to relax."

When Bling opened the apartment door, he and Logan were met by a dozen helium filled balloons. All of the balloons had 'Welcome Home' written on them in Max's handwriting. They had been tied to the door handle. Standing in the doorway of an adjoining room was Max, grinning at the surprised look on Logan's face. "It's about time you two got here. I've been waiting for an hour."

Logan had never been so happy to see someone in his life. "Sorry, I had to wait for Bling to sign me out." His earlier disappointment had vanished. "I thought you might have to work."

"I'm on call." Max had ignored Normal's insistence that she be on the Jam Pony premises when on call. "Normal could page me at anytime, but Original Cindy said things are slow today so I'm not expecting to hear from him."

Bling could feel the sexual tension between Max and Logan and figured he'd give them some time alone. "I'm going to make some coffee. Do you two want some?"

"Thanks Bling." Logan wheeled himself over to the sofa. Quickly flicking through his mail on the coffee table, he decided there wasn't anything there that couldn't wait.

"So are you alright to be home?" Max thought Logan still looked a little pale and tired.

Logan managed a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. At least nothing sleeping in my own bed won't fix." He caught the doubtful look on Max's face. "Really, I'm fine. How can I not be with all of this supercharged Manticore blood in me."

Max guessed she couldn't argue with that. "Ok. I was thinking, why don't you come over to my place for dinner on Wednesday?" Before Logan could ask if her invitation was a date, she quickly explained her reason for inviting him. "I figure I sort of owe you for all of the times you've fed me."

"I thought you couldn't cook." Logan wasn't against the idea of going to Max's apartment for dinner though.

"I'm getting some help with the cooking so that I don't put you back in hospital." Max joked. "Plus, I have a fire exstinisher just in case." Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Logan figured he could probably get all of his 'Eyes Only' work finished by Wednesday if he started as soon as Max left. "Sure. Sounds good."

Max hadn't realized that she was holding her breath waiting for his answer. "Great. I'll see you about eight then." At that moment her pager went off. "Damn. Normal's just realized I'm not at Jam Pony. Like I've got nothing better to do than sit around waiting for someone else not to turn up for work." She pulled on her jacket. "See ya on Wednesday. Can you bring the wine?"

"Sure." Logan shared Max's irritation at her boss for calling her into work. "See you on Wednesday." The moment his apartment door closed behind Max, he headed straight to work. Minutes later Logan realized it would take a small miracle to get everything in order by Wednesday night.

_The End_


	10. Between Out and Red

**"Inbetween Out and Red"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Out and Red.  
**Spoilers:** Out and Red  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


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Max couldn't believe it. Hell had actually frozen over, there was no other plausible explanation. Logan Cale, fighter for all that was good and true, was taking the night off from saving the world.

She had told him not to hold the war up on her account. Secretly though, Max had been thrilled that he had put aside his mission of saving the world so that he could cook her dinner. In fact, the same meal that she had Kendra help her prepare a couple of nights previously.

Max couldn't believe that she had almost walked away from Logan because her feelings had been hurt. She had felt that he was choosing his obsession with saving the world over dinner with her. Of course if she hadn't had help with dinner, she could have understood why Logan would find an excuse not to eat the meal.

She started to fill a saucepan with water for the pasta. Max knew this was Logan's way of saying sorry for blowing off dinner at her apartment and insisting she help him on his mission.

Logan knew Max had had every reason to be mad with him. It had been difficult for her to prepare a meal for him. Even with help. Cooking wasn't her strong suit, yet she had still made the effort.

If he hadn't been so wrapped up in avoiding his feelings for Max and burying himself in saving the world, he would have seen the signs that he and Matt were being set up.

So consumed with stopping Bronk was he, that it was only now that he recalled the sight of Max soaking wet, storming around his apartment wearing only a towel and a pissed off expression. That vision did things to his body that for once made him grateful that he was able to stay sitting down.

Max had all but melted when Logan had shrugged off his latest mission with a 'the world will still be broken in the morning' and a sparkle in his gorgeous blue eyes. For a moment she felt like the most important woman in the world. "So, you want any help other than boiling the water?"

Logan pushed the memory of Max in his towel to the back of his mind. "Sure. Why not?" He suspected that Max's lack of cooking skills weren't so much because she didn't have the ability to cook, but more because nobody had ever taught her. He had known Max long enough to know that she didn't like staying still for too long, so the trick was to keep her busy.

Max began to notice that she was actually doing quite a bit of the cooking this time around. This cooking thing wasn't as difficult as she had thought. The real test would be if it tasted as good as Logan's usually did. Hell, she'd be happy if it was at least edible.

When the pasta was happily boiling away, Max looked down at Logan. "I hope you're not going to make a habit of getting me to do the cooking."

Logan had no intention of doing that. If Max could cook her own culinary miracles, she'd have no reason to drop by for dinner. "No, I thought you could help me this once to properly earn your 'Eyes Only' secret decoder ring." He teased her by using her earlier comment.

"I can live with that." Max grinned. "So how long do I leave this pasta boiling?" She gave the sauce a quick stir so that it wouldn't burn.

"Test a piece of the pasta." Logan hadn't moved out of his wheelchair, so he wasn't high enough to see for himself. "If it's still firm and crunchy it needs to cook a bit longer." He, himself could tell just by looking at the pasta, but this way was easier for Max.

Max followed Logan's instructions. "I think it needs a few more minutes." She gave the sauce another stir. "Do I still get the secret decoder ring if this meal isn't edible?" Despite the fact that Logan had instructed her under a watchful eye, she was still nervous that she had ruined dinner.

In that instance Logan was willing to consume every crumb on his plate, even if it resulted in him having to get his stomach pumped. "It'll be fine. Just keep an eye on the sauce." He busied himself setting the table and lighting candles. He was sure that the meal would be delicious. Max didn't know how to fail and cooking dinner would be just another skill to add to her list.

Max began to relax again. She had been doing everything that Logan had instructed her to do. There was no reason that she could see that the meal wouldn't turn out well. Maybe then she could actually invite Logan over to her apartment for dinner without needing Kendra's help.

As much as she cared about her friend, Max would just once like to be able to have dinner with Logan without being tormented with the same questions and comments from her friends. There was only so many times you could be asked if you were 'banging the gong' with someone you considered a friend. Eventually it stopped being funny and just got old. Besides, she wasn't sure that she wanted Logan to be her sex slave.

Max tested the pasta again and decided that it was ready. She was so tangled up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Logan was watching her finish preparing their meal with great interest.

She had always figured that making love was the ultimate joining of two people that loved each other. Sex, on the other hand was just a matter of scratching an itch. Never, in either case was one person the others sex slave. The perfect intimate relationship at least in Max's mind was a partnership where both people were equal.

Realizing her mind had completely strayed off of the task at hand, Max blushed and dished the meal onto two plates. As she raised her head to ask Logan if he wanted wine with dinner, Max caught him watching her.

Logan had never seen Max blush and couldn't resist asking. "You seemed miles away. What were you thinking about?" There was that blush again. He couldn't ever remember seeing Max blush, let alone do so twice in one night.

Max tried to shrug the question off, while wondering how long Logan had been watching her. "Nothing important. Did you want some wine with dinner?" God, how embarrassing. Being caught thinking about sex by the person all of your friends thought you were banging it with.

Logan knew better than to push Max into answering his question truthfully. It was obvious to him that whatever she had been thinking about would have at the very least been interesting judging by her blushing. "The wine's on the table."

"Oh." Max silently cursed Kendra for her previous train of thought. "Well, we'd better eat this before it gets cold." She carried the plates to the table hoping that Logan wouldn't notice that she had been distracted by something other than cooking dinner.

Logan poured them both a glass of wine before tasting the food on his plate. "This is good." He hadn't doubted for a moment that Max could cook a decent meal. All the same, he was grateful that he wouldn't be returning to hospital with food poisoning.

Max tasted her cooking herself, thinking that Logan was just being kind. She was surprised that not only was the food edible, it actually tasted pretty good for someone who wasn't used to cooking. "What do ya know, I can cook."

Logan gave her a toothy smile. "I'm pretty sure you can do anything you put your mind to Max." She looked so proud of herself that Logan couldn't help but stare in awe of her.

"So what's 'Eyes Only's' latest mission in the fight against corruption." Max had wondered what Logan had put aside to trick her into cooking dinner.

"Word is that there's a witness willing to testify against Mayor Steckler. That is if he makes it to the courtroom alive." Logan had been attempting to make this a work free dinner.

"So when you find out where the Cops are hiding the witness, I just go and get him and baby sit him in the safe house." Max had forgotten that she had quit working for Logan.

"Are you sure?" Logan however, hadn't forgotten. "I don't want to take up all of your spare time."

"No problem." Max shrugged her shoulders. "Mr Multiples is back in town so Kendra will probably be out tomorrow night." Logan had delayed his caller until the following day. She figured nobody would try for the witness until dark.

"Mr Multiples?" Logan frowned. "Do I want to ask?"

Max shook her head. "You really don't." 

They finished their meal in a comfortable silence before playing a few games of Chess. Finally, when Max noticed that Logan was getting tired, she left so that he could get some sleep.

As Logan moved from his wheelchair to his bed, he remembered what his mother used to say: The world is right on schedule. Logan chuckled to himself. Yeah, his and Max's world was back on schedule.

_The End_


	11. Between Red and Art Attack

**"Inbetween Red and Art Attack"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Red and Art Attack.  
**Spoilers:** Red and Art Attack  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


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Logan gently cleansed the wounds on Max's back and arms. He was a little surprised that she was allowing him to tend to her wounds. He saw her shiver slightly. "You ok?"

Max stayed facing away from him. "Yeah. That stuff just stings a little." She ignored the voice in her head calling her a liar. It wasn't the sting from the antiseptic that made her shiver. It was the touch of Logan's strong hands which were so gentle on her skin.

"I can change your Doctor's note if you want to get out of work for the rest of the day." What Logan really wanted to do was keep Max safe in his apartment and never let her out of his sight ever again.

Max shook her head as Logan brushed her hair aside so that he could get to the injuries on the back of her neck. "Nah, that's ok. In a couple of days there won't even be a scratch visible on my skin."

"Be careful. Those guys are still out there looking for you." Logan tried to keep the concern out of his voice, but failed. The fact that the Red soldiers had Max scared made him worry all the more. He'd never seen Max scared before.

Max winced as she glanced over her shoulder at Logan. "I know. I'll be careful. Thanks for driving to the rescue by the way." She had never been so grateful to see Logan's car come screeching into the courthouse car park.

"No problem." Logan had been terrified when he had seen Bruno leave the court house without Max. He hadn't even thought of his disability. He had just got himself into his car and headed for the underground car park, praying that he wasn't too late.

Bling's face was a picture when Logan had driven up beside him with Max sprawled across the back seat. If Logan hadn't been so worried about Max, he would have laughed. Bling had decided that the best idea would be to remain silent and not ask any questions. Although it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.

"Ow." Max felt a pain in her lower back just above the waistband of her jeans. "I think they got me about herw." She waved her hand above where she felt the pain.

Logan's mouth went dry as he carefully lifted the tank top that Max was wearing. He was grateful that Bling had made himself scarce when they had returned to the apartment. Otherwise his physical therapist would be hassling him big time by now. "This looks pretty bad." He felt guilty when Max hissed in pain. "Sorry. Are you sure that you don't want to take the rest of the day off work. The best thing you can do is take a nice hot bath, cause souped up DNA or not you are going to be one big beautiful bruise tomorrow."

Max snorted. "Sounds wonderful, but I'm not boiling twenty pots of water even if it stops me from being a giant bruise." She was too sore to be bothered standing over the stove watching water boil."

"Well, use my bathroom." The words just leapt out of Logan's mouth before he could stop them. "You won't even have to boil the water." He was sure that Max would say no.

"That would be great, if you're sure you don't mind." Max ached from head to foot. A hot bath sounded wonderful.

Logan backed his wheelchair up. "I'll go and run the water for you." Great, now all he would be able to think about when he was in his bathroom would be Max naked in his bath.

While the water was running, Logan pulled out a couple of clean fluffy towels and a bathrobe for Max to wear. If he could convince her to take the rest of the day off work, then he would have time to wash her clothes and cook her dinner.

A short time later Max was soaking in the bath. She couldn't believe that Logan had called Normal and told him that she had been attacked on her way to work from the doctor. He had even got Matt Sung to back up the story.

She relaxed in the water. Logan had thought of everything. He had even got hold of Original Cindy and told her that the errand that Max was doing was taking longer than expected. Once he had reassured her friend that Max was safe and sound and would be joining her at Crash after he had given Max dinner. Logan had even made it sound as though dinner was payment for the make believe errand she had done for him.

Original Cindy had threatened various parts of Logan's anatomy if Max wasn't in tip top condition when she saw her at Crash. Behind her harsh words, Max knew that her friend trusted Logan to keep Max safe.

Max sunk beneath the surface of the water. She needed to think and she always did her best thinking under water. Today life got a hundred times harder. Now she was running from Lydecker and the Reds. The thing was, she didn't know why the Reds were so eager to get their hands on a Manticore prototype.

"Max? Are you ok in there?" Logan was started to become alarmed at the silence in the bathroom.

Max rose from the water and wrapped herself up in one of the towels. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." After wrapping her wet hair in the other towel, she pulled on the red bathrobe. She had no idea what Logan had cooked up for dinner, but it smelt delicious.

Logan had dinner dished out and waiting for Max when she emerged from the bathroom. "Your clothes are in the dryer, but I could probably find you something else to wear in the meantime."

Max sat down at the table. "That's ok. I can make do with this bathrobe for the moment." She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she sat down at the table.

Logan watched Max eat as though she hadn't eaten for a week. "Didn't you get time for a meal while you were baby sitting Bruno?"

Max paused between mouthfuls. "Well, I tried twice to get round to dinner, but what with the strippers that Bruno called, moving to a hotel which he then ran from to set me up with the Reds, I sort of ran out of time."

"I'm sorry." Logan hadn't known originally who the witness had been. When he had found out that the person he was trying to keep alive, was the same person who had put him in a wheelchair, he had tried to prove that he was big enough not to hold a grudge. His pride had put Max in danger. "I should have found another way to protect Bruno when we found out he was the witness."

Max stopped eating, her fork paused in mid air. "There's no way you could have known that Bruno was going to be such a pain in the ass. You also didn't know that he was going to use me to boost his cash flow. That is unless you have a crystal ball that you use to see the future, hiding around here somewhere." She continued eating her dinner.

Logan smiled at her joke. "No crystal ball hiding here. You would have swiped it by now if I had." He teased back. My God, was there anything Max didn't look good in?

Max carefully shook her head to avoid getting a painful reaction from one of her injuries. "Nah. Crystal balls aren't worth much these days. What am I eating by the way. It's delicious."

"Chicken Basquaise." Logan had figured that Max would demand dinner after putting up with Bruno over night. He had asked Bling to stock up on groceries that morning not realizing the outcome of the baby sitting assignment.

Max soaked up the juices from the meal with the crusty bread Logan had put on the table. "You are going to have to show me how to make this."

"Anytime." Logan moved away from the table to check on Max's drying clothes. He didn't want her to leave, but if she didn't show at Crash her friends would become more alarmed by her absence than they already were.

As he was pulling the dry clothes out of the dryer he sensed more than knew Max was standing behind him. That had never happened before. She usually crept up behind him and he didn't know about it until he turned around.

"Thanks for doing my laundry." Max took the clothes off of Logan. She could have sworn he knew that she was there before he had turned around. That sort of took the fun out of sneaking up on him. "I'd better get changed and get to Crash before Original Cindy makes good on her threat." She paused in the doorway. "Why don't you come with me to Crash?"

"Thanks, but I've got a lot of work to do." Logan had almost said yes but then he remembered that he was going to ask Sebastian to help him track down the Reds. He wanted to get to them before they got to Max.

Max hadn't been surprised by his answer. "Well, you know where I'll be if you change your mind." She was changed and out the door before she decided to stay with Logan, which would only cause her friends to hassle her more.

An hour later Logan finished talking to Sebastian and caught sight of the invitation to his cousin's wedding. He had been going to ask Max to go with him, but then Max had gotten hurt and he got side tracked.

There was still time to ask her to be his date to the wedding. He had a basketball game in the morning. Logan didn't want to ask her in his apartment, incase Bling overheard him. It was a better idea to get Max to meet him at the basketball courts and he could ask her then. Now that decision had been made, all he had to do was figure out what to say.

_The End_


	12. Between Art Attack and Rising

**"Inbetween Art Attack and Rising"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Art Attack and Rising.  
**Spoilers:** Art Attack, Rising  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


------=====================------

Logan rubbed his thigh. He couldn't believe that he could feel his legs. Not only had he been able to feel the pain in his ankle when he had hit it on the leg of the coffee table, but he could feel his hand on his thigh. How was this possible?

Needing someone to confirm that his legs were returning to working order, Logan phoned Sam Carr's office and booked an appointment to see his Doctor later that morning. As he got ready for bed he remembered to make a note to phone the store that Max had stolen her dress from and get them to charge it to one of his credit cards.

As he lay in bed, the old fear that he might be imagining the feeling in his legs resurfaced. Flicking on the bedside light and throwing the covers aside, Logan pulled himself up so that he was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. Concentrating on his feet, he focused on moving his toe. When nothing happened he grew despondent. Letting out a frustrated breath Logan thumped his fist on the mattress. As he stared angrily at his feet, he saw his big toe move slightly.

Reassured that his recovery wasn't his imagination, Logan relaxed and let his mind wonder back to the wedding. He had been surprised to see that Max was so moved by the ceremony. Still, he had always thought that beneath that tough front she always wore, was a soft heart.

Logan could have kicked himself, or at least now there was a possibility he may be able to kick himself for practically ignoring Max all evening. When he had told Max that she had been the most beautiful woman at the wedding, he had been telling the truth.

When Max had maneuvered her way to the front of the crowd while he was making a mess of his carefully thought out speech, she had seemed to bring a warm glow to the room. He had never been so happy to see somebody in his life and not just because she was feeding him the lines to his speech. The words had come flooding back to him when he looked at her. He had even imagined for the briefest moment that he was saying the words to her and not the bride and groom. Then he blew it by spending the whole night trying to figure out why Daphne had dumped him all those years ago.

Logan had never seen Max all dressed up like that before. With her hair piled on top of her head, leaving a few stray curls to frame her face and cover her barcode, she had looked angelic. He hadn't expected to be so stunned by her beauty.

There had never been a time when Logan hadn't thought that Max was beautiful. Somehow tonight she had been like a vision that had walked straight out of a dream. Logan had a suspicion that Max's boss Normal had even been stunned at the sight of Max gliding out from behind the lockers.

Logan closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. He had a big day ahead of him. He could be getting his life back and a chance of a future with Max. Although he fell into a deep sleep, he dreamt dreams full of a beautiful brunette in a red dress.

Max walked into her apartment in the early hours of the morning to find that Kendra had only just got home from a date with Mr Multiples.

"Hey. How was the wedding?" Kendra envied how fantastic Max looked in that dress.

"Not bad. I had to keep leaving to help save Normal's sorry ass." Max sat down on the sofa beside Kendra. "Original Cindy ended up at the wedding and I think she hooked up with Logan's ex."

Kendra giggled. "You're kidding. Who caught the bouquet?"

"Original Cindy." Max joined her friends giggles. "Logan's Uncle Jonas seems like a pain in the ass. Maybe he has a personality when he's sober. If he ever is sober."

"How's the rest of the family?" Kendra could only imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by that many rich people.

"Bunch of snobs." Max smiled to herself. She had never enjoyed lifting jewellery off someone more than when she had stolen the locket from right under Logan's Aunt Margot's nose. "Logan develops this really false laugh when he's around them."

"What was he laughing at when you first heard this false laugh?" Kendra couldn't understand why two people like Max and Logan who were obviously meant for each other, insisted on denying the attraction between them.

"His Uncle Jonas was basically calling him a lazy bum." Max had wanted to kick Jonas' ass so badly for that. "But he said it in the nicest possible way of course."

"So I'm guessing Logan liked the dress." Kendra teased.

Max knew what was coming. She wasn't about to repeat Logan's comment about her being the most beautiful woman at the wedding. Nor was she going to let Kendra know that Logan was going to pay for the dress. "We both agreed that we both clean up nice."

Kendra's jaw dropped. "You clean up nice? You mean the words beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, elegant, exquisite weren't used? Is Logan blind as well as not having the use of his legs?"

Max gave her friend an unladylike snort. "He sees just fine. I keep telling you we're not like that. If you'd believe me then you wouldn't get disappointed when there's no juicy gossip to tell."

Kendra studied her friend for a minute. "I don't think you'd tell me even if there was. I've seen the way Logan looks at you. So don't tell me there's nothing but friendship between you two. Original Cindy told me Logan pulled every string he had to get you out of jail that time a few months back. Plus he knew about your medical condition before either Original Cindy or I did."

"Well, you don't tell me everything." Max changed the subject before she admitted something to Kendra that she wouldn't even admit to herself. "You say I've met Mr Multiples, but you won't tell me who he is."

"This is so totally different." Kendra protested. "I don't know why you're so defensive about this. We all like Logan. You two make a cute couple."

"We're not a couple." Max should have known Kendra would turn the subject back on her.

"You should be." Kendra stood and headed for her room. "I'm going to bed. See ya in the morning."

"It is morning." Max saw the time on her kitchen clock."

"Well see ya later in the morning." Kendra poked her head out of her room. "Maybe even this afternoon."

Max walked into her own room and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had never owned a dress this beautiful or this expensive before. She didn't know if there would ever be a reason for her to wear it again. Taking an empty coat hanger from her closet, Max took off the dress and changed into some comfortable clothes after hanging it up in her closet.

Max had never had a guy give her a gift before. Not flowers, not fruit baskets, not jewellery and certainly not an expensive dress. She wasn't really sure how to react. The feelings she was feeling were strange and new to Max. No other man had made her feel as special as Logan had when he told her that she was the most beautiful woman at the wedding.

This wasn't right. Max was a genetically engineered killing machine. She wasn't supposed to go all soft and mushy inside when a rich, good looking guy told her that she was beautiful. That was exactly what was happening. Although Max couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud, she felt like a normal girl for once.

A few hours later while Max was making herself some coffee, Logan phoned. "Hey. Did you get any sleep?" Max was worried that Logan had been working after she had left his apartment. She could survive just fine on little to no sleep, but Logan couldn't. In fact he got more than a little grouchy.

"Yeah, some." Logan could have sworn that Max had sounded worried about him. "I had to get up anyway. I've got a doctor's appointment."

"What's wrong?" Max was really worried now. It wasn't that long ago that Logan had ended up in hospital and almost died.

"Nothing. It's just a check up." Now Logan was certain that Max was worried about him. "I may have some news when I get back from the doctors. So I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner." For a reason he wasn't even sure of himself, Logan wanted Max to be the person he shared the good news about his legs with.

"Sure. See ya around eight. You know I never pass up a Cale culinary miracle." Max wasn't sure that she could wait that long to hear Logan's news.

"See you at eight." Logan didn't think it was a good idea to remind Max that it had taken him a while to get Max to have dinner with him to begin with. He hung up the phone and headed for the shower. "Give me good news Sam." He muttered to himself. Life was beckoning him and he wanted to run towards it.

_The End_


	13. Between Rising and The Kids Are Aiight

**"Inbetween Rising and The Kidz Are Aiight"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Rising and The Kidz Are Aiight.  
**Spoilers:** Rising and The Kidz Are Aiight  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


------=====================------

Roaring through the night on Max's motorcycle, Logan had never imagined it could be so exhilarating. Maybe it was the wind hitting his face or the fact that Max was letting him drive her most precious pocession. He couldn't put into words how it felt to have Max's arms around his waist. To smell her perfume because she was so close that the wind was blowing her hair against his neck.

They rode down to the pier and sat and stared out at the water. It was a beautiful sight. The calm black water lit up multi colored splashes of reflected lights from the surrounding buildings. For once the world seemed so at peace, but Logan knew it was only an illusion.

"I can see why you love the night so much." Logan turned slightly so that he could see Max's face. "It's almost as though nobody has a care in the world." He had come so close to kissing her tonight. His confidence to do so had slipped along with the stability of his legs.

"Yeah. It's almost as though nobody has any problems." Max looked into Logan's blue eyes and saw such hope in their beautiful blue depths. "It helps you forget your own problems too." She had been so sure that he was going to kiss her back at the apartment. At least before his legs had given out on him, she had been pretty sure that was what he was going to do.

"Thanks for letting me drive." Logan grinned. "I know how precious your baby is to you." He had always thought that it was only guys that were overly protective towards their cars and motorcycles. That was, until he met Max. But then Max wasn't your average woman.

"No problem." Max beamed back at him. "Just don't expect it to happen too often." She couldn't remember when she had seen Logan this happy. It didn't matter to her if Logan had the use of his legs or not. However, she did know how much it meant to Logan to be able to get back on his feet.

They sat staring at each other for a while, savoring the magic of the night. The courage that Logan had felt earlier when he had manage to stand for a brief time, was fighting to resurface.

"We'd better get back." Max had seen Logan shiver and was worried that he would catch cold. She tended to forget sometimes that she could take temperatures colder than Logan could. "Besides you haven't fed me yet."

"Can't have you fading from hunger." Logan teased before starting up the motorcycle again. Part of him felt as though another magic moment had been broken. The other part of him was getting cold, so was relieved to be going back to his warm apartment.

Max didn't want the night to end, but Logan was only human. He needed rest if he was going to continue healing and be able to walk unassisted. She had never thought of herself as a miracle. That was what Logan had called her, a miracle. If she had known her blood was what would get Logan back on his feet and bring that gorgeous smile of his to the surface sooner, she wouldn't have hesitated for a second to give him the blood transfusion.

Logan was disappointed when Max left not long after they had eaten dinner, but the excitement of the evening was starting to catch up with him. There was always tomorrow. He had just been given a second chance at life on his feet and he was going to appreciate every second he was given.

This was also a chance to take things a step further with Max. His wheelchair was no longer standing in their way. The plan was that he would get a good nights sleep and see if his legs would hold out long enough for him to go for a walk with the aid of a walking stick.

When he had been testing his legs out earlier under Bling's watchful eyes, he thought that he could feel his limbs getting stronger with every step. Perhaps he had overdone it a bit, considering he had collapsed into Max's arms. Not that he was complaining about having Max's arms around him. In fact if all went well, that would be happening more often without him having to collapse first.

Max entered her apartment deep in thought. She was glad that Kendra was still at Mr Multiples as she needed to think without any banging the gong comments from her friend.

With Logan regaining the use of his legs, it brought forth a whole lot of new possibilities. She just hoped that he wouldn't revert to the overconfident man who had stood her in front of the mirror all those months ago. Not that she wanted him to stay bitter at being stuck in a wheelchair. She'd be happy if he stayed the happy in between guy he had been tonight.

Although she knew that Logan being in a wheelchair didn't mean that he couldn't make love, it did to him. She had discovered a long time ago that to Logan, the wheelchair represented all of the things that he used to be able to do and now couldn't.

Still, that wasn't a problem anymore. Max settled down on her bed and tried to read a book. On the third attempt to read the same page she gave up. Instead she let her mind drift back to the bike ride she and Logan had shared.

It had been so perfect looking out at the water, having a reason to put her arms around Logan while they rode. It occurred to Max that she didn't have to be into work until the afternoon. She had been intending to got the farmers markets anyway. Maybe she could find something to convince Logan to cook up another Cale culinary miracle.

Satisfied that she had come up with a plan, Max realized that she now had someone else to talk to about her screwed up DNA. Of course being kidnapped by Red Soldiers wasn't the way Max had wanted Original Cindy to find out that she wasn't your average girl. She was still glad to have a female shoulder to lean on when her feline DNA kicked in and produced some sort of freaky behavior.

The next morning after checking that Original Cindy wasn't having any after effects from her kidnapping, Max headed for the farmers market. Normally she didn't enjoy shopping of any kind, but today she felt as though she was adventuring into a new exciting part of her life where she wouldn't be so alone.

Deciding that chicken was the best choice for dinner as her favorite Cale culinary miracles usually had chicken as one of the ingredients, Max headed for Fogle Towers. She picked the lock and let herself into Logan's apartment knowing as soon as she set foot inside the door that Logan wasn't home.

After leaving the chicken with Bling once she had found out that Logan had gone for a walk, Max went in search of the man of the moment. Trusting her instincts she headed for the water. She remembered that Logan had told her once that he was out sailing when the pulse had hit. When she saw the tall figure walking on the beach barefoot with the assistance of a cane, she knew that her instincts had come through for her again.

_The End_


	14. Between The Kids Are Aiight and Female T...

**"Inbetween The Kidz Are Aiight and Female Trouble"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between The Kidz Are Aiight and Female Trouble.  
**Spoilers:** The Kidz Are Aiight, Female Trouble  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  


------=====================------

What the hell was with Logan? One minute he was laughing and flirting with her. The next he was all but kicking her out of his apartment with dinner to boot. Max wondered what had gone wrong. Sitting on top of the space needle didn't help make things any clearer.

Max had thought that getting the use of his legs back would make Logan happy. It had never mattered to Max. What she felt for Logan was the same even if he was in a wheelchair or not. Not that she understood what she felt for Logan. Or even why she had been so nervous at dinner.

Logan had seemed nervous as well. That must have been the reason he had forgotten to turn the oven on. She couldn't help but smile at that memory. The great Chef Cale forgetting to turn the oven on. I guess there really was a first time for everything.

Maybe Logan was still steamed at her for ditching dinner to go and help Zack. God, could Zack's timing have been any worse, even if he had tried. It wasn't as though she could have asked Zack to wait until she had dinner before she went to get him. With Manticore hot on his trial he didn't exactly have time on his side. She had thought that Logan would understand that.

Still, it was hard to forget the look on Logan's face when he tried to stop her from leaving the apartment. It was a mixture of fear for her safety, disappointment at their dinner being interrupted and anger at Max running head first into danger for Zack. She had never known anyone who could combine so many emotions into one look.

Max sighed. There would come a day when choosing between Logan and Zack wouldn't result in her just missing dinner. When that day came she knew that she would have to say good bye to one of them permenantly. The problem was, she wasn't sure that she would be able to choose between her brother and the man she had come to care deeply for.

Max shook her head. That was a problem for another day. Right now she had to make up for missing dinner to Logan. It was hard to get a gift for a man who already had everything. Heading back down to the street where she had left her bike, Max tried to think of something to get Logan. As she climbed on her bike she remembered how much Logan loved basketball. She had heard Sketchy tell Herbal that there was a game on tomorrow night. Perhaps she could get tickets from a scalper that she sometimes did business with.

An hour later, Max had two tickets to the basketball game and her wallet was a lot lighter. She hoped taking Logan to the game would make things better between them. The thing was, she didn't know what had gone wrong tonight so she wasn't sure if she could fix it.

Logan stared at his computer screen. Perhaps he could use the information he had gathered on Manticore to help him. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He had only had the use of his legs back for a couple of days and it looked as though he was losing it again.

He had come so close to getting a life with Max and he was damned if he was going to give it up easily. There was one name on the list of ex-Manticore Doctors he had managed to track down, who was actually based in Seattle. This particular Doctor had covered her tracks well, but Logan was very clever at uncovering mysteries.

The Doctor in question had done extensive research into reversing the paralysis in some patients. The treatment was pricey and Logan needed that treatment quickly. The only way he could get the money quickly was to sell something. As he looked around his apartment his eyes settled on a painting that his Grandmother had given him.

As he was about to walk out the door with the painting, his phone rang. Despite his urgency to get the money for the treatment for his legs, Logan answered the phone in case it was one of his informants.

Max's voice drifted down the phone line to him, reminding Logan that he had all but shoved her out the door this evening. It surprised him more than a little when she asked him to the following nights basketball game. Accepting her invitation as quickly as possible without being rude Logan resisted asking Max how she had got hold of tickets to a sold out game. After arranging to meet at the penthouse, Logan said good bye and hung up the phone.

After selling the painting for half the price it was worth, Logan set to work contacting the Doctor to arrange an appointment. All the time his fingers worked tapping away at the keyboard, Logan kept telling himself that he was doing all this for Max. It didn't stop the niggling voice in the back of his head that was calling him a liar. It was practically screaming at him that he was selfish and the only person he was trying to help was himself.

Once Logan had arranged with the Doctor to meet with him and see if the treatment would even work in his case, he tried to get some sleep. After tossing and turning for an hour, Logan fell into an exhausted deep sleep.

In his haste to organize an appointment to get back on his feet permanently, Logan had forgotten completely about going to the basketball game with Max. When Bling arrived in the afternoon and noticed the gapping blank space where the painting had once been proudly displayed, Logan brushed aside his friend's query and said he had just got bored with the painting.

Seeing as Max was the only person who knew how much the painting meant to Logan, Bling accepted Logan's answer with a shrug and went to work. Logan tired not to be obvious about keeping glancing at his watch, but Bling still noticed.

"You expecting someone or have you got to be somewhere?" Bling noticed there was something a little off with Logan today.

"I have some things to take care of." Logan was deliberately vague.

"How did dinner go last night?" Bling was starting to wonder if Logan and Max had, had another fight.

"Forgot to turn the oven on and then Max had to leave to save Zack." Logan stayed focused on the computer screen.

"Man, that guy's timing sucks." Bling patted Logan on the shoulder. "Still, Max didn't go with him, did she? She's still in Seattle."

Logan stopped tapping at the keyboard. "Yeah. Max is still in Seattle. She didn't go with Zack. One of her sisters needed some help who Zack took away to safety. Max wishes she had gotten the time to spend with her sister."

Bling nodded understandingly. "That must have been tough on Max." He patted Logan's shoulder. "Despite the fact that she could have gone with her brother and sister, Max still stayed in Seattle. That's certainly something to think about."

"Well, I'll have to think about it later because if I don't leave now I'm going to be late." Logan stood and reached for his walking stick. "Could you finish up here."

"Sure." Bling watched Logan walk out the door. "Sometimes I just don't understand that man." 

_The End_


	15. Between Female Trouble and Haven

**"Inbetween Female Trouble and Haven"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Female Trouble and Haven.  
**Spoilers:** Female Trouble, Haven.  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


------=====================------

Max spent longer on the Space Needle tonight. It had been a trying few days what with Logan hiring Dr Vertes to help him get back the full use of his legs, Jace turning up pregnant and trying to kill Vertes and Lydecker finishing the job himself.

The most disturbing event of the past week was arriving at Fogle Towers after retrieving Logan's file to find his gun lying on his computer desk and the man himself nowhere in sight. Having seen Vertes' comments in his file, Max panicked and had assumed the worst.

She hadn't been able to control her joy at the sight of Logan wheeling himself into the apartment, alive and well. She had been as surprised as Logan had been when she had thrown her arms around him and admitted that she had been scared for him.

Max had expected Logan to laugh at her. After all, a genetically engineered killing machine being scared was pretty amusing. But instead he had held her and told her everything was going to be ok. He had comforted her, but he hadn't told her what he had really been about to do when Mrs Moreno had, had her accident. Nor had he told her what had changed his mind.

Once again fear gripped at Max's heart. She had accepted that Logan would be alright, but now part of her needed to be sure. Leaving the Space Needle Max headed for Fogle Towers. It was late so Logan would probably be asleep. She wouldn't stay long. Only long enough to make sure that he was alright.

Sure enough, once Max had picked the lock and entered Logan's apartment, she discovered that all of the lights had been switched off and even the computer had been shut down for the night. Moving silently through the apartment, Max headed for Logan's bedroom.

The door to Logan's bedroom was open. Obviously, he wasn't expecting anyone to be walking around his apartment, least of all his favorite cat burglar. As Max stood in the bedroom doorway, she was amazed at the sight before her.

She had seen Logan unconscious, but never voluntarily asleep. It was as though he had let all of the walls that he had built up around him down. The lines that had seemed to have taken up permanent residence on his forehead over the past few days, had all but disappeared. He almost reminded her of what he could have looked like as a child.

Not wishing to invade Logan's privacy, but needing a little more time to be sure that he was fine, Max sat down on the floor in the doorway. It calmed her watching the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. That was where she stayed until it was time to go home and get ready for work.

Logan woke to a sense that there was something or rather someone missing from his room. He had known that Max was sitting in the doorway to his room watching. He had watched her from barely opened eyes, not wishing to frighten her away if he looked at her wide awake.

He had thought that she would only stay for a short while and then leave. Despite falling asleep with her watching him, Logan had known that Max hadn't left him until it was time for her to leave for work.

Max still surprised him, even when he thought he had her all worked out. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever expected to find her scared in his apartment when he returned from helping Mrs Moreno. He knew she was smart enough to have figured out what he had been about to do. He just never expected her to care that much.

When Max had thrown her arms around him, he had got a glimpse of what would have happened if he had shot himself. How could he have ever thought of doing that to her. He berated himself for only thinking of what losing the feeling in his legs meant to him. He wasn't alone anymore. Sure he and Max were just friends. Well, maybe a little more than just friends, but she had been through more than enough in her young life. She didn't need the added hurt of knowing that he had ended his life because he was too much of a coward to face life without the use of his legs.

After Max had left to take Jace to catch a bus to Mexico, Logan had tried to convince himself that he had just imagined that Max cared. It wasn't until Max had come back to check on him and ended up staying the entire night watching him, that he knew that it hadn't been his imagination. 

No matter how many times Max told him that the wheelchair didn't matter to her, Logan still couldn't bring himself to believe her. He hadn't been able to stop himself from asking her 'Is it easier for you with me in the chair'. He knew how bitter he was being as soon as he said it.

He had felt justified asking the question at the time, even when his jacket hit him courtesy of Max. It wasn't until they were driving to see Vertes that Logan realized that Max's stabbing silence wasn't because she was mad, though she had every right to be. He had hurt her by pushing her away and not trusting her enough to tell her that his legs were failing.

The truth was, there was no one else in the world that he trusted more. That was why even now, it tore at his heart to think that he had hurt her. He had felt sorry for himself and lashed out at Max. He wouldn't have blamed her if she never wanted anything to do with him ever again. Instead of turning her back on him, she had sat watching over him while he slept to make sure he was alright.

Transferring himself from his bed to his wheelchair, Logan shook his self pity off and formed a plan. He may have lost the use of his legs, but he could still help people. The future he wanted with Max was back beyond his reach, so he would just throw himself back into his work so he wouldn't have time to dwell on what he couldn't have.

Max quickly showered and changed before heading to work. After spending the morning delivering parcels, she stood in line and waited with Sketchy for gas. She figured if she just got Logan out of Seattle for a couple of days, maybe she could prove to him that it didn't matter if he was in a wheelchair or not.

She and Logan had planned to spend the weekend at his Uncle's cabin anyway. Max found that she was really looking forward to spending a weekend free of interruptions from the outside world. It would do both of them the world of good.

The only thing left to get to make their trip a reality was Sector passes. The Sector Police had made it harder to leave the city over the last couple days, so Max couldn't just use her messenger pass. She would have to get Grade A, no questions asked passes or she and Logan weren't going anywhere.

As she was hanging upside down outside the police station window, she kept reminding herself this was all worth it for a weekend away. After an hour of hanging upside down waiting for the officers to leave their desks, Max's head started to ache. When the coast was finally clear, she almost fell through the window in her eagerness to get the sector passes.

Picking the passes up she noticed her hand tremble slightly. Yep, she needed this break as much as Logan did.

_The End_


	16. Between Haven and Shorties in Love

**"Inbetween Haven and Shorties in Love"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Haven and Shorties in Love.  
**Spoilers:** Haven, Shorties in Love.  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


------=====================------

The drive in the tow truck was silent except for the country music on the radio. Logan's shoulder was killing him, but he ignored the pain and concentrated on Max instead. Her seizures had subsided apart from the occasional shudder. There was no way he could take Max to a hospital without questions being asked. "Is there a hotel you can drop us off at?" Logan felt it was the best option. After all, they couldn't get any gas for the car until morning.

"Are you sure?" The tow truck driver had heard what had happened tonight at the cabin. "You really should get that shoulder looked at and your girlfriend looks as though she's had a rough night as well."

Logan forced a smile onto his face. "It's just a scratch and besides my friend is a nurse. So we'll be fine." He just wanted to get Max somewhere that was safe enough for her to be tucked up in bed with her tablets and a glass of milk.

"Well, if you're sure." The tow truck driver wasn't convinced but he dropped the couple off at a hotel as Logan had asked.

Word had got around Cape Haven fast, so Logan and Max got a room free of charge. The hotel clerk had assumed as the tow truck driver had that Max and Logan were a couple. Upon seeing the king size bed, Logan and Max quickly decided they were both too worn out to explain they weren't like that.

Once the hotel clerk had left them alone, Max shrugged off the blanket and threw it on the bed. "Right, where's the first aid kit? We need to patch up your shoulder."

"No. We need to get you a glass of milk and your tablets." Logan protested. He noticed Max was shaking again.

"Logan, I am in no mood to argue with you." Max knew her seizures were getting bad again, but she didn't want Logan's wound to get infected. "Hurry up and take your jacket and shirt off."

Without a word Logan wheeled himself over to the bed and transferred onto the bed. Carefully pulling off his jacket, he then picked up the phone and called room service for some milk and something for both of them to eat. "I think you'd better sit down before you fall down."

Max gave Logan a frustrated look and reached into the side pocket on his chair, pulling out a first aid kit. "Take off your shirt." She demanded as she sat down beside Logan on the bed.

Logan did as he was told. Max was still a force to reckoned with even when she was ill. "It's not that bad." It hurt like hell, but he wasn't about to admit that. 

Max knew as soon as she saw the wound that Logan was lying. "You know, you can stop being a hero now. There's only the two of us here now and I know your real identity."

Logan hissed as Max cleaned his wound. "Well, I get to play superhero so rarely, I'm not eager to give it up." It was only partly true. He didn't want Max to see yet another weakness in him.

"Being a superhero's not all it's cracked up to be." Max quickly dressed Logan's wound before room service arrived. "I think I'd prefer to be the sidekick." She packed the contents of the first aid kit away with shaking hands. She wasn't so sure that the shaking wasn't from being so close to Logan's bare well toned chest rather than seizures.

Logan reached out to steady a very shaky Max. "Well being the side kick's not so hot either." When Max started to shake violently, he snaked his arm round her waist so that she didn't fall off of the bed. "Why don't you get under the covers. I'll get your tablets." She was really starting to scare him. In the time he had know Max, he had never seen her seizures last this long. The implant was really playing havoc with her body.

"Thanks." Max let Logan help her undo her boots and climb under the covers. "This damn implant's giving me a wicked headache."

"You've been through a lot. It had to take it's toll sooner or later." Logan stroked her hair as he always did when she had a seizure. It had become a habit for them.

A knock on the door alerted them both to the room service they had been waiting for. Logan pulled his shirt back on, transferred back into his chair and answered the door.

"Would you like me to call a Doctor for your girlfriend Sir?" The waiter could see a pale Max tucked up in the huge bed.

Logan shook his head. "No thanks. She just needs to take her medicine and get some sleep." He tipped the waiter and shut the door behind him. Pushing the trolley into the bedroom wasn't an easy take for Logan. Somehow he managed even though it took a while.

Transferring back onto the bed, Logan propped Max up against the pillows on the bed before handing her a glass of milk and her tablets which he had shoved in his pocket before leaving the cabin. "Come on, you'll feel a lot better once you've taken your tablets and get some food inside you."

"When did you become the medical expert?" Max managed to joke once she had taken her tablets.

"Since you and I spent most of our free time patching each other up." Logan joked back handing Max a plate of food. "This definitely wasn't the weekend we planned was it."

"No and don't think you saving my life stops me being mad at you for working this weekend." Max couldn't resist taking a jab at Logan for doing his save the world thing when he should have been taking a break.

"You are obviously feeling better." Logan chuckled. "Look, I'm sorry about working this weekend. But in my defense, I didn't expect to have both of us trapped in the cabin while we were attacked by hoods."

Max put the empty plate and glass on the beside table and snuggled down under the covers. "Fine, I'll give you that one." Exhaustion set in and Max drifted off to sleep.

Logan watched Max sleeping for a moment before he too closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Both of them slept soundly until the next morning when they were woken by the sound of a ringing phone.

For a moment Logan forgot where he was, until he moved to answer the phone and got painfully reminded of the gunshot wound in his shoulder. "Hello?" He really wasn't a morning person.

"Mr Cale. It's the front desk. Your car has been dropped off and I have your keys here. Would the two of you like some breakfast before you leave?" The hotel clerk guessed that the couple wouldn't be hanging around for too long after their not so warm welcome to Cape Haven.

"Yeah, thanks." Logan quickly ordered something for both of them to eat, while Max stumbled into the bathroom to take a shower. "How are you feeling this morning?" Logan asked Max through the closed bathroom door.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." She yelled back. "Which strangely enough is better than I felt last night." Max walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and another around her tiny frame. Grabbing her bag, she went back into her bedroom to change. "We should take a look at your shoulder. The dressing may need changing."

"Can it wait to after breakfast? I'm starving." Logan would have given anything for the sight of Max wearing only a towel to be an everyday occurrence. "I hope you left me some hot water."

Max walked back out of the bathroom dressed in clean clothes. "Yeah, I left you some hot water." She dropped her bag on the bed and grabbed one of the wooden dinning chairs and sat it in the shower box. "What'd you order me for breakfast?" She swung another chair around and sat on it backwards.

"Food." Logan grinned as he wheeled into the bathroom to take a shower, grabbing his bag as he went.

Max rolled her eyes but couldn't help but grin as well. She let room service in when they arrived and was already half way through her breakfast when Logan left the bedroom. "You ok?" It seemed to Max that Logan had been in the bathroom for an awful long time.

"Yeah, it just takes a little longer to transfer with a bullet wound in your shoulder." Logan wheeled up to the table and set the brakes on his chair. He started to eat his breakfast. "Sorry about this weekend."

Max shrugged her shoulders. "That's ok. Some of it wasn't your fault."

Knowing that was Max's way of accepting his apology gracefully, Logan continued to eat his breakfast. Once Max had redressed his shoulder, Logan packed up the car and they drove back to Seattle.

Max slept most of the trip back to Seattle, so was feeling more like her old self when Logan dropped her home. She had forgotten that she had told Original Cindy that she was going away for the weekend until she opened the door to her apartment.

"So, did you two bang the gong or what?" Original Cindy demanded, a wicked grin on her face.

"Or what." Max dumped her bag on her bed before sitting down beside Cindy on the sofa. "Logan got shot in the shoulder and I ended up having several seizures."

"Damn." That was not the weekend Original Cindy had pictured for her friend and hot boy. "You two alright?"

"Nothing a drink at Crash won't cure." Max grinned.

"Let's go then." Original Cindy went to grab her jacket and then stopped. "It'll have to wait until we've picked up the hot water cylinder we all chipped in for. I managed to convince Herbal and Sketchy to help carry it up the stairs."

Max grinned. "Great. I'll be able to have a hot shower tonight. When are they getting here?" A knock on the door answered her question.

_The End_


	17. Between Shorties in Love and Pollo Loco

**"Inbetween Shorties In Love and Pollo Loco"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Shorties In Love and Pollo Loco.  
**Spoilers:** Shorties In Love, Pollo Loco.  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


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His poem was missing. The moment Max had left his apartment, Logan had retrieved his journal from where he had thrown it on the sofa. Max had never worried about curfew before so he had wondered if there had been something in his poem that had scared her.

Logan knew where his poem was. He was sure Max had it. Part of him was flattered that she wanted to keep the poem. She had caught him writing it previously. He had been concentrating on wording the poem so perfectly that Max had walked into his apartment without him knowing it and she hadn't been able to do that since she had given him a blood transfusion.

The other part of him wished she had just asked if she wanted to keep the poem. But that wasn't in Max's nature, he knew that.

He wasn't sure if he should let on to Max that he knew she had taken the poem. Eventually he decided that he wouldn't mention it and just enjoy knowing that Max had liked the poem enough to steal it.

Picking up a pen, Logan let the words pour out of his heart onto the page of the journal. He had never been so inspired like this before he had met Max. She had become his muse the night she had broken into rob him. With her complicated personality and make up, Max was perfect to inspire his creative side.

Pondering on their conversation tonight, Logan wondered how it could be that Max didn't know how it felt to lose her first love. Had she never been in love at all or was she still seeing the person she was in love with? The second option didn't appeal to Logan much, though he realized Max didn't have much time to fall in love when most of her time was spent either at work or with him.

He had realized and finally admitted to himself though that he was completely in love with Max. Not that he could tell her without risking Max running a mile. It wasn't just that Max was incredibly beautiful, that made Logan love her. It was her feisty spirit and the softness that she tried to hide underneath. Most of all it was how she saw Logan for who he was and not for his disability.

No, Max certainly wasn't ready for any heartfelt declarations of love just yet. It was just as well. Logan wasn't sure he could say the words out loud yet. The fear of rejection always stopped him. He knew the day was coming when neither of them would be able to hide behind the just good friends façade any longer. Sometimes he wished he could see into the future to make sure that he and Max could get the happily ever after that he wanted for them.

Max sat on her bed with Logan's poem in front of her. She had never read anything so beautiful. She knew it had taken a lot of courage for Logan to let her see the poem in the first place. It was as though he had bared a small part of his soul to her.

Despite the items she had stolen over the years for cash flow, the sheet of paper in front of her was the most priceless thing she had ever obtained. The words that flowed on it made all the hardships of her life disappear into the background.

Not wishing to share the poem so that it would remain precious and not encourage yet another banging the gong speech from Original Cindy, Max hid the poem inside a well read book beside her bed.

She realized that the poem was almost a written version of what she saw on Logan's face when she caught him off guard. When his expression was unguarded and his true feelings shone through, she felt that there was someone else in the world that really saw her. Sometimes it frightened her as well. It could almost make her believe that she was loved.

There were times when Max just wanted to let go of her fears and admit to Logan how she really felt about him. The fear of Logan seeing her as the botched up science experiment she really was, stopped her every time.

It was hard to pinpoint the moment that Max had stopped thinking of Logan as a friend. There was rarely a night now, that she didn't go to Logan's apartment for dinner. Apart from stealing the poem tonight, it was rare that she stole anything these days when not on an 'Eyes Only' mission. You couldn't really call stealing money from a bad guy stealing, especially when someone else made off with the cash.

Hearing Original Cindy walking around the apartment, Max got off of her bed to see if her friend was alright. Even though Max hadn't exactly warmed to Diamond, she hated to see her friend upset.

Cindy turned away from the window as Max walked into the room. "Hey. How was dinner at Hot Boy's?"

"Oh you know." Max joked. "Great food, brown out, fine wine and lots of candles. Nothing special."

Original Cindy chuckled. "When are you two gonna stop dancing around each other?" She held her hand up as Max started to reply. "Don't give any of the 'we're not like that' rubbish. You go round to his place everyday and have dinner there almost every night."

"He's a good cook. Besides, he can get his hands on food that I have trouble pronouncing, never mind buying." Max protested.

"Ah huh." Cindy wasn't convinced. "So it was his cooking that had you practically skipping in the door tonight."

Busted. Max hadn't realized Cindy had seen her return from Logan's and the Space Needle tonight. "Turns out Logan's not a bad poet. Actually let me read one of his poems. He gets sort of funny about it, so don't mention I told you."

Now it made sense to Original Cindy. Logan had obviously written a poem about Max and that was why her friend had a glow about her. "Probably doesn't think writing poems are very manly. It's a common problem among the three legged species."

Max shrugged. "I guess." She knew her friend was trying to keep her mind off of losing Diamond. "Still, you'd think he'd be proud about something he does well."

"Men always need to be told how great they are at everything." Original Cindy replied. "Their egos constantly need stroking. So did you ooh and ahh over his poem?"

"I said it was alright." Max had been vague when Logan asked her if she hated the poem. He was a smart guy though. She knew he'd probably figured out that she had stolen the poem by now.

"And your boy's supposed to know that's high praise coming from you." It had occurred to Original Cindy some time ago that Logan knew Max better than anybody. Even herself.

"He knows I don't give a lot of over enthusiastic responses." Max said defensively. "If he wanted one of those, he'd talk to his family more often. They're good at being big fakes."

"Fair enough." Cindy headed for her room. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Night."

"Night." Max walked back into her own room and pulled out the poem to read again.

The next day Logan spent most of his time looking into a case Dr Shankar had brought to his attention. Bodies had been turning up in the woods displayed and with their teeth missing. None of this had drawn his attention until Beverly Shankar had mentioned the barcode on the most recent victims neck.

Logan had asked the Doctor to email some photos through to him. Then he had managed to trace previous murders down in other states. The question that came to mind as he dialed Max's apartment number, was who or what was strong enough to take out an X5 like that. He just hoped this barcode didn't belong to one of Max's siblings that she had been looking for.

A short time later, the distressed look on Max's face confirmed the barcode belonged to one of her brothers. He wanted so badly to spare her this pain. At Max's request, he phoned Beverly and arranged for Max to view the body.

The thing that scared him the most was, whatever had killed Max's brother could go after Max next and Logan had no idea how to stop it.

_The End_


	18. Between Pollo Loco and I and I am a Came...

**"Inbetween Pollo Loco and I and I am a Camera"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Pollo Loco and I and I am a Camera.  
**Spoilers:** Pollo Loco, I and I am a Camera  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


------=====================------

Logan watched Max sitting curled up on the sofa staring out the window at the Seattle rain, wrapped up in his bathrobe. He could almost see the walls thrown back up around her. He could only speculate on what had happened between Max and her brother, but he knew Max wasn't going to be ready to talk about it in a hurry.

He had tapped into a transmission between Lydecker and his men. So Logan knew that Ben had been found dead in the woods with a broken neck and a couple of broken limbs. Of course Lydecker had removed Ben's body before any questions could be asked by the normal authorities.

A second ago, all Logan wanted to do was wrap his arms around Max and tell her everything was going to be alright. But then Bling had handed him the photos that Lydecker had left for him in the contact room.

It had been so easy to forget that Max had been trained to kill. To think of her as just another girl who was a bit stronger and faster than all the others. Of course he had never forgotten that Max was special, but the part where she could kill without a second thought had slipped his mind.

Unfortunately, Lydecker was right. Max wasn't just the girl next door and the possibility that she might have had more than a passing involvement in her brother's death, scared the hell out of him.

Logan hid the photos in the pocket on his chair and resumed watching Max. He respected that Max needed time and space to sort through what had happened with her brother by herself. He knew that if she needed to talk, then she would either come to him or go to Original Cindy.

He wondered what Max saw when she looked out of the rain splattered windows into the gloomy night. Was she running today's events through her mind, wondering if she could have done something differently? One thing Logan was certain of, was that Max was blaming herself for Ben's death whether or not she had anything to do with it.

Quietly wheeling himself into the kitchen and started to make something for both of them to eat. Max had said earlier that she wasn't hungry, but it gave Logan something to do. The visions of the photos of Max as a child flashed through his head. He had never seen such a blood thirsty look on such a young face. As hard as he tried to tell himself that Max had changed a lot since she was a child, he just couldn't be sure. His own uncertainty was what scared him the most.

Max found some comfort in knowing that Logan was close by if she needed him. The terrified look on Ben's face, would be forever burned into her memory. The sound of him begging her not to let Manticore take him back was like the accompanying soundtrack.

She wasn't sure what she found worse. That she had killed her own brother or that she knew how to. The sound of the fast approaching chopper had been the only thing that had stopped her from staying with Ben's body.

Max had run on shaking legs through the woods, sobbing her heart out. There had been nothing else she could have done. Ben wouldn't listen to reason. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have continued on his killing spree. As always when she needed someone to talk to, she had headed for Fogle Towers.

She had guessed from the expression on Logan's face that he had found out that Ben was dead. Yet he never said a word about it. He had simply handed her a bathrobe and offered her the use of his shower. It was as though he instinctively knew that she wasn't ready to talk.

Standing under the hot shower, Max wished she could wash the events of the day away as easily as the dirt from the woods. She had been looking for her brothers and sisters for so long, yet she had never considered what effect Manticore had left on them. She had assumed the others would cope the way she had.

Looking back over the past few months, the siblings she had caught up with had handled life in their own way. Zack still remained the ever in command C.O. Brin had run until her illness had made it impossible to run any longer. Tinga had assumed a different identity to stay under the radar. Ben hadn't been able to distance himself from what had happened to them at Manticore and it had driven him insane.

It had never occurred to any of them when they had escaped that there was anything but a better life waiting for them outside the Manticore fences. For Ben though, it was just a bigger training field.

When they were children, convicts were used in that particular training exercise. Ben couldn't tell the difference and there were times Max couldn't either. Unlike Ben, Max had Logan to help to figure out the difference. Ben had no one.

As Max stared into the darkness, she wondered if any of the others were like Ben. Only Zack knew the answer to that and he sure wasn't going to tell her. She glanced over her shoulder to find Logan was still watching over her. He had made her something to eat but still kept his distance.

Something had changed in the way Logan was looking at her. She had noticed it after Bling had handed him something. Max wasn't sure what had happened but she could sense the fear in Logan. It hadn't been there before.

Once Max's clothes had dried, she thanked Logan for dinner and headed for the church to check on Father Destrey. She still didn't understand why people put such faith in someone they couldn't see. But if it made them happy and wasn't hurting anyone, who was she to argue.

_The End_


	19. Between I and I am a Camera and Hit a Si...

**"Inbetween I and I am a Camera and Hit a Sista Back"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between I and I am a Camera and Hit a Sista Back.  
**Spoilers:** I and I am a Camera, Hit a Sista Back  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


------=====================------

Logan sat staring at the exo-skelton for what seemed like forever. This was another chance for him to walk again. His first task would be finding out what was wrong with it. If Phil was standing there at that moment, Logan probably would have kissed him he was so grateful for the exo-skelton.

He decided the best place to start would be by downloading the blueprints for the exo-skelton. At least once he saw what the machine was supposed to contain, he would have an idea what parts he would need.

Remembering that Max was the reason that he wanted to be walking again, Logan decided to keep the exo-skelton a surprise. It had almost been a year since they had first met. Getting the exo-skelton working could be like an anniversary gift for both of them.

The toughest part would be keeping the exo-skelton hidden from Max. With her having feline DNA, Max's curiosity level was always high. She had come to respect a certain amount of his privacy though.

Looking back over the past week, Logan couldn't believe that he had almost let his fear push Max away. She was the best thing that had happened to him all year. She hadn't asked to be created instead of born. Instead of having Barbie Dolls to play with as a child, Max only had guns and various other weapons.

Getting back to the task at hand, Logan contacted Sebastian. His friend would know where to start looking for the exo-skelton blueprints. An hour later he felt a step closer to walking again. Sebastian had suggested a couple of places that would have the blueprints in their system.

Checking his watch, Logan realized how late it was getting. Max would be there soon wanting dinner. If there was one thing about Max he could be sure of, it was she didn't like being kept waiting when she was hungry.

When Max arrived, the usual delicious smelling aromas of Logan's latest culinary miracle were floating through the apartment. Now that Logan was no longer rich, she wondered if the delicious dinners would cease. Of course she could always pick up the ingredients herself and just get Logan to perform his magic in the kitchen.

"Hey. How long before you feed me." Max was relieved to find that Logan wasn't acting so nervous around her anymore. She wasn't sure what had snapped him back to his usual behavior, but she was glad to have the old Logan back.

"Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes." Logan handed her a glass of wine. "Enjoy this while it lasts."

"You know, I can always pick up a bottle of wine on the way over here." Max sipped her wine. "Since you're so picky about what wine we have with our meal, you'll just have to tell me which one to get."

Logan's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling when you say you'll pick up the wine, you really mean steal the wine. Don't tell me, you know a local vineyard that's on the way to my apartment." He joked.

"No." Max rolled her eyes. "I'll buy the wine. I'll just steal something to sell so that I can buy the wine." It made perfect sense to her. Besides, she only stole off of bad people so it wasn't really like stealing.

Logan chuckled as he shook his head. "I still have a few bottles stashed away yet. No sense in you committing a felony for a bottle of wine."

"Not yet anyway." Max teased. At that moment the timer went off on the oven. "Dinner's ready."

Logan stared at Max for a moment before turning his wheelchair and beginning to dish out the meal. He was touched that Max had offered to bring the wine so that they could still enjoy dinner together. But he wasn't broke yet.

They ate dinner in a comfortable silence, then played a couple of games of chess before Max went home. It occurred to Logan once she had gone, that he could cope without all of the luxuries he had gotten used to, as long as he still had Max in his life.

He cleaned away the dishes and settled back in front of his computer. Logan hacked into the systems of the companies that Sebastian had suggested. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for. However it was going to take a while to download the blueprints while ensuring he couldn't be traced.

Getting hold of the blueprints was one thing. Figuring out what was wrong with the exo-skelton was another thing all together. After attempting a couple of alterations which didn't seem to make any difference to the exo-skelton working properly, Logan decided to get some sleep and start fresh in the morning.

On top of the space needle Max thought about Logan's family. They were so cut throat that it made Max appreciate her test tube siblings even more. She hadn't thought twice about leaping into Logan's car to get him out of harms way from the hoverdrone. Logan's Uncle hadn't been the least bit concerned of the danger he was putting his nephew in and it had lost him his own life.

Max had never been one to scare easily, but she had never felt such an uncontrollable fear as she did when the hoverdrone targeted Logan. Next to Original Cindy, Logan was her best friend in the world.

She still couldn't believe how easily Logan had thrown away his wealth to do the right thing. Max didn't know of anyone else that would have done that. Logan was certainly one in a million. Max grinned to herself at that thought before climbing down off of the space needle.

Logan was back up at the crack of dawn attempting to find out what was wrong with the exo-skelton. Finally he called Sebastian and explained what the problem was. Although he knew that a bullet had hit the exo-skelton while Phil was wearing it, Logan had no idea what used to be in the place that the bullet hole now was.

Sebastian listened patiently, realizing that Logan was getting frustrated. He also understood his friend's need to get out of his wheelchair. Unfortunately, Sebastian would never get out of his wheelchair even if he got hold of a working exo-skelton.

He was right in the middle of trying to encourage a discouraged Logan, when Max entered Logan's apartment and bellowed his name.

Logan bid Sebastian a quick goodbye before going out to Max before she could come looking for him. He knew as soon as he saw the look on Max's face that something was wrong. Somehow he knew it had something to do with one of her siblings.

_The End_


	20. Between Hit a Sista Back and Meow

**"Inbetween Hit a Sista Back and Meow"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What went on between Hit a Sista Back and Meow.  
**Spoilers:** Hit a Sista Back, Meow  
**Rating:** PG - some graphical violence  
**Category:** Drama, Romance  


------=====================------

First Brin and now Tinga. Manticore was taking them back one by one. At least Charlie and Case would be safe, that was one conciliation. Max looked up from where she was sitting on Logan's sofa to find him watching her with a concerned look on his face. "I can't believe I have a nephew. When we left Manticore, we weren't even sure that children would be a possibility. Now Tinga has a son and Jace has a baby on the way." She spoke mainly to break the silence. "We're going to get Tina back. I promised Case we would."

"I know." Logan had watched helplessly as Max found and lost her siblings one by one. He was terrified that Manticore would take Max next and he couldn't bare the thought of losing her. "You know I'll do what I can to help."

Max smiled at Logan. "Thanks." It was good to know she had Logan for support. It was also a little strange. The only person she had been able to depend on most of her life had been herself. "Zack's going to try and find out where in Manticore they have Tinga. Then we can decide what move to make next. Waiting has never been my strong point."

"Yeah, but it will be worth it when you get Tinga back." Logan tired to reassure Max, although he could only imagine what Manticore would do to Tinga.

"Thanks for saying when not if." Max stood and gave Logan a hug before heading for the door. "I'll catch ya later." She needed time to think and she couldn't do that with Logan so close. It was becoming harder and harder to fight her true feelings for Logan. She was actually finding herself staring at him as if she had only just noticed how hot he was.

Almost as soon as the apartment door closed, Logan spun the wheelchair around and headed for the exo-skelton. He needed the machine working if he was going to help Max get her sister back. A certain amount of competitiveness had flared up in him at the mention of Zack's name. The X5 male would see him as a threat to Max's safety no matter what. At least up and about with the use of the exo- skelton it gave Zack one less excuse to use against him. As Logan dialed Sebastian up on the computer, he realized how empty his apartment seemed without Max there.

What had started out as a struggle to get Max to eat dinner with him, had become a routine for them both. Most of the time Max would simply show up and demand Logan feed her. Except for a few minor details, or at least now they seemed minor, they were just like an ordinary couple that had been dating.

"Logan." Sebastian's mechanical voice jerked Logan back from his train of thought. "What planet did you just come back from?" The faintest smile touched Sebastian's face.

"One where the exo-skelton works." Logan joked. What he was really thinking was 'One where Max is Queen and I get to worship her perfect body in every way known to man.' He focused back on the task at hand. "So I was thinking maybe the exo-skelton just needs re-wiring." That idea went flying straight out the window when half an hour later the exo-skelton shorted out again. "Or maybe not."

Logan was running out of time. He wanted the machine working in time for his and Max's anniversary. "I guess it's back to the drawing board. Again."

"Let me have a look at the blue prints again and I'll get back to you." Sebastian suggested. "It's probably something simple that's why we keep over looking it."

"I guess." Logan wasn't so sure. "Thanks for the help." He said good bye and cut the connection.

Original Cindy looked up as Max entered the apartment. "Hey Boo. I thought you'd be having dinner with your Suga."

Max rolled her eyes. "He's not my Suga. I did have dinner with Logan. He had the food all ready when I got there. It just needed heating up." She frowned slightly. "Actually, he's been doing that a lot lately. This past week, every time I break into his apartment dinner ready and waiting."

"You know, you could use his door bell." Original Cindy chuckled at the ease with which Max announced breaking into Logan's apartment.

"Nah." Max grinned. "If I did that he'd think something was wrong with me. He must be busy writing a new saving the day article for some magazine." She shrugged her shoulders. "Guess he needs the money."

"Doesn't stop him from playing Chef obviously." Original Cindy reminded her. "Feel free to bring me home a doggie bag anytime."

Max giggled. "Sorry. The foods that good there's never any left to bring back. I'll try and save you some next time."

Original Cindy watched her friend suspiciously. "So you don't mind that Logan basically feeds you and kicks you out the door."

"It's not like that." Max protested. "He doesn't kick me out. I get up and leave. Besides, sometimes he asks me to stay and play Chess."

"Chess." Original Cindy raised an eyebrow. "Is that some funky way of Logan asking you to Bang the Gong?"

"Argh. I'm going to bed." Max held back her laughter until she got into her own room. Still, she couldn't pretend that she wasn't a little bothered that she was getting home early just lately. It used to be that she would be over at Logan's until the early hours of the morning. The last few nights, she had walked in the door before midnight.

The sound of someone climbing in her bedroom window had Max assuming a fighting stance. Relief and annoyance flowed over her when she saw Zack climbing in the window. "You know, we have a door."

"Somebody could be watching it." Zack shrugged his shoulders before getting down to business. "They didn't take Tinga back to Manticore. I figure I'll keep an eye on Lydecker and see if he can lead us to her."

Max shook her head. "I don't think Lydecker knows any more than we do."

"No, but I bet he knows who does know what's going on." He climbed back out of the window. "I'll let you know when I find Tinga."

"Be careful Zack." Max called out into the night.

The following night Sebastian had the answer to why the exo-skelton wasn't working and a plan on how to get the chip needed. Logan wondered if the powers that be were working in his favor for once when Max arrived right on cue.

_The End_


	21. Between and Jesus Brought a Casserole an...

**"Inbetween And Jesus Brought A Casserole and Designate This"**  
by Kirsten Tapp

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** What happened after And Jesus Brought A Casserole.  
**Spoilers:** And Jesus Brought A Casserole, Designate This  
**Rating:** PG  
**Category:** Drama/Romance  
**Author's Notes:** Here's the next chapter in the Inbetween series. I won't be doing a chapter for inbetween Meow and aJBaC since they were linked together anyway.  


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Max lay listening to the sound of her brother's beating heart that now lay inside her chest. She couldn't believe he was gone or that he had given up his life for her. One thing was for sure, she would not let it all have been in vain. She would not let Manticore break her like they had Brin.

All she had to do was keep an eye on the prize: Her freedom. She blocked out the sound of the heartbeat and recalled the night Logan had stood with the aid of the exo skeleton. She had expected him to be angry and feel betrayed when she told him about being in Heat, but he had been caring and understanding. When she thought back, she had known for a while that Logan cared about her as more than just a friend. He knew her sometimes better than she knew herself.

The memory of his lips on hers was as clear as if it had happened a few seconds ago. Logan would get her through this. Thought's of what could have happened that night if Zack hadn't interrupted them filled her with hope for a future outside of Manticore. It also filled her with a little guilt over the loss of her brother.

Zack wouldn't want her to mourn him. He'd want her to fight for her freedom in any way she could. She had to do that for him.

Unbelievable as it seemed, even in the safe confines of her mind, she knew that Logan would somehow know she was still alive. She had to get back to him. She needed to get back to him. She had never loved anyone the way she loved Logan. "I'm coming back to you Logan. Wait for me." She murmured.

Logan sat on top of the Space Needle staring into the darkness. He had woken up in the back of the van in the empty warehouse after the break in at Manticore. His head throbbed from where Lydecker had knocked him unconscious. Still, he felt the warmth of Max's body lying in his arms as he watched her die, helplessly begging her not to leave him. Even now, he felt that somehow she was still alive, though he knew that was impossible.

Judging from the emptiness of the warehouse, he had guessed that Krit and Syl had gone back into hiding. Who knew what Lydecker was now up to. One thing was for sure, he wasn't back at Manticore.

Logan had driven himself back to his apartment, sat down on his sofa and that was where Bling had found him the next morning. Bling had taken one look at him and guessed that something had happened to Max. Losing contacts or even innocent strangers that he tried to help, Logan always dealt with that by getting angry and going after those responsible. This numb state that Logan seemed to be in was a worse version of what he had been like when Max had left Seattle with Zack.

"Logan." Bling tried to break him out of his stunned state. "Where's Max?" He knelt in front of Logan. The man looked as though he had just come back from hell. "What happened to Max?"

"She's dead." Logan barely blinked. The words hurt too much to say, let alone pair them with any sort of expression. A solitary tear fell down his face and dropped off of his chin onto his hand which was resting on his knee.

Bling could understand Logan's zombie like appearance and actions now. Although his employer and friend refused to admit it, he had been completely in love with Max. "What happened?" He was in shock himself. What could have possibly happened to kill an X5.

"Someone from Manticore shot her. The wound was too bad. I couldn't save her." The tears streamed down Logan's face now, yet he still sat completely still and numb.

A loud and persistent knocking temporarily shifted Bling's attention from Logan to the visitor. "I'll see who that is." Bling stood and went to answer the door.

"Those two better be banging the gong 24/7 cause that's the only thing that's going to stop me from putting the smack down on Hot Boy's ass. I haven't seen my Boo for the past three days." Original Cindy pushed her way past Bling, but came to an immediate stop when she saw the state Logan was in. "Oh my God. What happened?" She looked over her shoulder at Bling. "Where's Max?"

"She didn't make it." Bling gently explained. "From what little I managed to get out of Logan, she was shot and died in his arms."

"How long has he been like that?" Original Cindy felt as though the wind had been completely knocked out of her. Despite her own shock, she realized that Logan was in pretty bad shape.

"I'm not sure." Bling admitted. "This is how I found him this morning. Apart from a few sentences he hasn't moved or spoken."

Original Cindy carefully sat down next to Logan and took hold of his hand. She wasn't sure if it was of any comfort to him, but at that moment it was all she could think of.

The following few days Bling and Original Cindy took turns looking in on Logan. Finally Original Cindy decided something more drastic had to be done. Logan had barely moved from the sofa. She wasn't sure that he had even eaten anything since Max had died.

"You think you're the only one suffering over losing Max?" She started yelling at him. "What do you think Max would say if she could see the sorry state you're in? She'd be disgusted that you were using her as an excuse to feel sorry for yourself. Not to mention there's a really bad stench coming off of you. When was the last time you took a shower?"

"If you don't like it here, then leave." Logan snapped. "Nobody's asking you to keep coming here."

Bling was watching from the kitchen. "Come on Man. Fight back." He muttered under his breath. If Logan couldn't be bothered fighting for himself, they would lose him as well as Max.

"You don't get rid of me that easily." Original Cindy snapped back. "Max would never forgive me if I let your sorry ass rot in self pity. I wouldn't insult her memory that way."

It was as though a damn broke inside of Logan. He stood on shaky legs despite having the assistance of the exoskeleton. "Max is dead. I can't do any of this without her. If she's not here, what the hell do I have to live for?" The tears were running down his face like waterfalls, almost blinding him.

"Her memory. The fact that she would want you to go on." Original Cindy stopped yelling. "You managed to live before you met Max. Now you have to live for Max."

Logan stopped yelling as well. "I don't suppose there's a chance that Max will come back to kick my ass personally."

Original Cindy chuckled and hugged Logan. "Sorry. I don't think that's going to happen." She screwed up her nose. "I'm serious about the stench Boo."

"Fine. I'll go and take a shower." Logan laughed.

"Then what are you going to do?" Bling asked from the kitchen.

"I'm going to live for Max." Logan replied.

"I'm glad that worked." Bling told Original Cindy. "Cause I thought I was going to have to carry his sorry ass into the shower myself."

"I think he still has a long way to go." Original Cindy stared at the closed bathroom door. "I'd sure hate to be the person who was responsible for Max's death when he gets angry."

Bling knew she was right. Logan would not stop until he had destroyed Manticore or Manticore killed him.

Logan had taken to sitting on the Space Needle every night. He was still terrified of heights but up here he felt closer to Max. There was a sense that she was still alive. He didn't know if it was wishful thinking on his part or if it was just because he knew how much she loved to sit on the Space Needle and pretend she was a normal girl.

He had contacted a former informant who was also part of a group called the S1W. If he helped their cause, they were willing to help him take down Manticore. If it was the last thing that he ever did, he would destroy the people who took Max from him.

The stitches hadn't even been removed when Manticore put Max back into training. She had forgotten how much she hated the feel of the cold metal of a gun. They subjected her to tests, increased battle training and any form of torture they could think up, but she would not break. She was not X5 452. She was Max and she had someone waiting for her outside the fences.

Instead of focusing on the words Betrayal, Deceiver, and Traitor flashing on the screen before her, she thought of the times Original Cindy had done her nails for her. The times she and Logan had eaten dinner together and played chess. The magical kisses they shared. She would not be broken as long as she could hold onto those memories.

"You're a fool if you think there's anyone waiting for you out there." Brin's voice was so bitter and angry. It was hard to believe this cold woman in front of her used to be her sister. "They all think you're dead."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Max had come to terms that her beloved sister Brin was gone. The person that had replaced her was as much the enemy as Renfro.

"Why don't you just give up. You can't win." Brin gave her a cruel smile. "This in here, is all you've got. Zack's not even around to save you. His heart is wasted on you."

Max refused to let Brin see how much her words hurt her. "I've got more than this dump. You're the one who has nothing. After what you let Renfro do to Tinga, you don't even have the love and support of our siblings." She saw the shock Brin tried to keep hidden. "Oh, that's right. That bitch told you Lydecker was responsible." She gave an unladylike snort. "Yeah, this place is a palace." She walked away leaving a stunned and shocked Brin staring after her. 

Every time Renfro had barked 'State your designation.' Max had always responded, 'My name is Max." Not even starving her and trapping her in a space a third her size had broken Max. Max had always got satisfaction from the frustration that Renfro couldn't keep hidden.

When Max was moved to a cell, she started working on a way to get free. She memorized the patrols, watched the X7's for any signs of weakness and at night started chipping away at the concrete blocks beneath her bed.

When she closed her eyes to pretend she was sleeping when the guard checked on her, she always saw Logan's face. His beautiful blue eyes and dazzling smile. She could see him so clearly. He had to know she was still alive. There was no way she would be able to see him so clearly if he had given up on her.

Unknown to Max, Renfro's frustration was more about the constant 'Eyes Only' broadcasts than Max's refusal to be broken. She was getting phone calls from her superiors complaining about her lack of progress with the X5 she had captured and the possible exposure she hadn't prevented.

Renfro was running out of ways to try and break X5 452. Still, there might be a way she could kill two birds with one stone. It was becoming rather obvious that the 'Eyes Only' broadcasts were an attempt to avenge the believed death of X5 452. A plan started to form in Renfro's mind. She would get X5 452 to kill 'Eyes Only'.

_The End_


End file.
